


Divenire

by Kaillingme (Setty94)



Series: El Dorado [2]
Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Historical References, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-01
Updated: 2012-10-12
Packaged: 2018-11-04 09:41:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 59,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10988316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Setty94/pseuds/Kaillingme
Summary: (Transferred work from another site.)Seven years have passed and Kyungsoo has moved to Eastern Europe following rumors of a blood-sucking monster that is terrorizing the citizens. He planed to prove the existence of these creatures of the night, but some memories of the past are holding him back. Will he realize that looks can be deceiving and not be blinded by past love?Jongin has been roaming the streets of a small town, looking for the man named Kyungsoo. He was sent to kill him the night he met him to put an end to the discomfort of the EXO clan. However things go astray and feelings are developed. When it comes down to the end can he follow through with his orders?





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This is my other baby. It's the SEQUEL to my first baby so be gentle with this one too. Hope you enjoy~

Jongin dropped the lifeless body to the ground and did not look back. Centuries of killing human after human left him with no remorse for the lives he ended. He simply did not care, they were human and he was more than that. He was the only predator that they feared, that they could not defeat, and that was completely at the top of the food chain. He was above all of them and he liked that, he liked being more powerful than ever imagined, he liked killing.

He stepped out of the dank alley and into the cobbled street, wiping the blood from his mouth. There was nothing more satisfying than tasting the blood of frightened prey. The rush of adrenaline and other chemicals produced when fear is induced make the blood that much sweeter. He particularly liked “playing” with his meal before he finished it, and “playing” only increased the richness of his prey’s life force.

Thunder crackled in the distance and Jongin knew he needed a place to stay for tonight. He was already searching for a man named Kyungsoo, the legendary biologist that discovered many species in the so called ‘New World’. These days, however, he was dabbling into much more dangerous territory and Jongin needed to put a stop to it. If word got out that his kind existed, then he would surely be staked right on site. The only solution was to kill Kyungsoo once and for all, before he put his little nose somewhere it really did not belong. Jongin gazed up at the sky, the moon was full, that meant his strength was at its highest.

Tonight was the night. Tonight he would kill him and put an end to the discomfort of his clan. The EXO clan owned nearly all of Eastern Europe whether the humans knew it or not, every breath they took was because they let them. The people lived in constant fear of the dark, of what sunset meant, but they did not know that EXO walked among them during the day. EXO had its puppets and they put them to use regularly. Nearly all of the police force was under their thumb and anyone who had the slightest amount of power was controlled by them as well. Everyone knew about the disappearances at night, but no one said a word about the ones during the day. They feared that if they acknowledged them, then there was never a time of day they were safe, there was no peace of mind.

Jongin smirked and rounded a corner; he was nearing the upper-class district by the forest. It was the oldest district with the largest houses and the upper-class paid no attention to the rumors. They had nothing to fear as they supplied the EXO clan with whatever they needed financially and politically, and were promised protection in return.

He had this hunch that Kyungsoo was nearby. He could practically smell the sweet aroma of his blood pumping in his veins, veins that he wanted to empty. He could hear the snores of those who slept “peacefully” in their rooms at night. They all had garlic at their window sills, but little did they know that it had no effect on any of the EXO clan. They just chose to spread this rumor around to give a little hope to the human population.

The sky thundered again and rain began pouring heavily. Jongin turned onto the walkway of a decent sized house with strange plants in the yard. He was sure this was Kyungsoo's house; the plants were a dead giveaway. Jongin assumed they were from the New World, but plants were not his thing so he could not be sure. He was soaked to the bone, but it did not bother him, he did not get cold, warm, or ill for that matter, it was only mildly discomforting but nothing he could not ignore. He reached for the golden knocker and banged it three times and waited.

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo was deep in thought. He had mistakenly found his sketchbook from his trip to the New World and he sat at his table numb. There were echoes of longing and tears, but none came forth. He still had not opened the sketchbook; he just stared at the worn cover. He was afraid of what he might see once he flipped it open, but he held his breath and turned through the pages until he was at the one right before his first sketch of Kai. His fingers lingered on the corner and he felt his throat tighten and his tears threaten to spill over. He bit his lip and started to flip the page open when there was a knock at his door.

Kyungsoo looked up at the door in shock. It was long after dusk and anyone traveling outside at this time of night was begging to be mauled by the mysterious bloodsucking monster that was roaming the forests Eastern Europe.

Kyungsoo had been relocated to explore the forests that surrounded the landscape for evidence of such monster. His discoveries in the New World established him well in the community and he was able to go where he pleased these days. Some rumors about bodies being found drained of all their blood piqued his interest. A few weeks after hearing such, he packed his bags and moved. He never really stayed in one place too long. Consistency felt like a death sentence.

He closed the sketchbook and placed it gently back in the box he found it in and sighed. Kyungsoo finally got up to open the door and nearly passed out. Standing on the other side was a young man with tanned skin and dark hair that was plastered to his forehead from the rain.

“Are you going to invite me in? I’m not too fond of standing out in the rain.”

Kyungsoo limped aside, his dysfunctional leg was a reminder of what he had lost seven years ago, and gestured for the man to enter, but he remained planted.

“You have to verbalize it.” He hopped from foot to foot.

“Oh. Come in. Make yourself at home.” Kyungsoo could not stop staring at the man; he looked so much like Kai it hurt. “May I ask your name?”

“Jongin.”

Kyungsoo looked to the moon and smiled.

Jongin stared at him as he removed his coat and hooked it on the coat rack.

“What brings you here at this time of night?” Kyungsoo asked. His heart was beating erratically and his breathing felt shallow. “You are aware of the rumors right?”

“Those rumors are just that. Rumors. There’s nothing out there otherwise how would I have gotten here safely?” Jongin pulled out a chair from the table and sat down.

“Luck perhaps?” Kyungsoo offered. His heart soared. This Jongin person sounded exactly like Kai.

“I don’t believe in luck.” He stated blatantly.

“Oh, well maybe there’s a higher power looking out for you then.” Kyungsoo smiled gently and wondered if he was going to spend the night. “Have you eaten?”

“Or they’re just rumors and that’s that.” Jongin stared at Kyungsoo with harden eyes. “Yes I have eaten.”

Kyungsoo looked up from the cupboard. The tone in Jongin’s voice suggested a hidden meaning to the word “eaten”. He smiled anyway and placed the kettle over the fire to warm up some tea. “Are you thirsty then? I made some tea.”

Jongin stared blankly at Kyungsoo. “Actually, I’m parched. Some tea would be nice.”

Kyungsoo grinned. The resemblance was uncanny and he was sure that he was talking to the spirit of Kai somehow. If only he could get him to remember him, everything would work out. He poured two cups of tea and plopped a sugar cube in each. “You never told me what brought you here.”

 

~*~

 

“Oh, I heard from someone that you needed a housemate.” Jongin sipped his tea and almost gagged. He could never understand how he ever liked that stuff way back when he was human.

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened, “I do not remember telling anyone that. In fact, I have not really spoken to anyone since I moved here.”

Jongin’s face froze, _‘He didn’t?’_ He raised an eyebrow, “Oh, I must have the wrong house then.” He started to get up, “I’ll leave.”

Kyungsoo jumped up from his chair, “Wait!”

Jongin smiled to himself and turned around to face Kyungsoo.

“You can stay…I just need to clear out a room for you.” He wrung his hands, “Besides it’s raining outside and I wouldn’t want you to get sick.”

Jongin slid back into his chair and clasped his hands beneath his chin and stared at Kyungsoo, “If you insist.”

Kyungsoo nodded and half shuffled half limped towards the back of his house to fix up a room for Jongin.

Jongin chuckled. ‘ _Well that was easier than I expected.’_ He closed his eyes and leaned back into the chair. Killing Kyungsoo was going to be all too easy, the man already trusted him enough to let him stay in his house. All he needed to do was wait for Kyungsoo to fall asleep and then he’d end his life, peacefully. He had not actually done anything to Jongin so Jongin figured he could at least make it painless. He just needed to snap his neck quickly enough so that he would not feel it and be on his way. No one would ever know what happened to him because the EXO clan already made a cover story for his “sudden disappearance” that no one would question.

“Your room is ready.” Kyungsoo stood at the entrance to the kitchen, smiling expectantly. “If you would follow me, I’ll show you the way.”

Jongin forced a smile and followed the limping man to the back of the house. He wondered briefly why the man had a limp but in the end he really did not care.

“Over here is the bathroom, and my room is right down the hall, so if you need anything, just ask.” He pointed out each location and opened the door to the room.

The room was quite large and nearly empty save for a bed, a dresser, a nightstand with an oil powered lamp, and a rug. There was a large window facing the back yard that was filled with even more plants from the New World and a small pool with a gold trinket sitting by the edge. Jongin strode into the room and looked around. It was simple and he liked simplicity, but he still preferred his room back at the clan’s headquarters. He looked out the window at the full moon and gasped softly.

Kyungsoo bit his lip, “I know it’s empty and not that impressive, but it was originally going to be my room, but too many memories.” He shook his head. “If you don’t like it, I’ll show you to the other guest room.”

Jongin stared at him with curiosity for a brief second and then made his face blank, "It will do.” Kyungsoo gazed at him. Jongin could hear the blood rushing in the tiny man’s veins; he felt his fangs prick his lips and turned around abruptly.

“You must be tired,” Kyungsoo half whispered. “I’m right down the hall if you need me.”

“I know.” Jongin kept his back to him and waited to hear the soft click of the door closing. He braced himself against the window sill and breathed in deeply. There was something about Kyungsoo that did not seem right to him. People usually feared him whether they knew he was a vampire or not, but Kyungsoo only seemed eager to please him. Jongin pinched the bridge of his nose and waited for his fangs to retract.

A few hours later, the house was silent, except for the soft breathing coming from down the hall. Jongin crept out of his room and towards Kyungsoo's. He opened the door a crack and peeked in, Kyungsoo was sleeping peacefully and there was a slight smile on his face.  Jongin leaned over him and was about to grab his head when Kyungsoo moaned, “Kai.” Jongin froze. He dropped his arms to his side and stared at Kyungsoo who was now crying in his sleep, tears running down the corners of his eyes and pooling on his pillow. “Kai.” He moaned again and rolled onto his side, hugging one of his other pillows. Jongin scratched his head, unsure of what to do; he sighed and headed to the door. “Don’t go. Don’t leave me again.” Kyungsoo sobbed into the pillow he was hugging.

Jongin left and snuck back into his room and sat on the bed. He felt weird, like something was not quite right inside of him. He felt as though he had seen something extremely personal, something no one should have seen. He knew there was something wrong with Kyungsoo and now his curiosity was getting the best of him. He guessed that killing Kyungsoo could wait one more night. Besides, if this was truly the famous Kyungsoo, why was he here, trying to prove that mythological creatures exist? Jongin plopped on his back, his hand across his forehead. There was no way Kyungsoo would discover the truth, not when he was too blind to see what Jongin was. Maybe he could make a game out of it? Jongin wondered. Just to see how close Kyungsoo could get, before he had to kill him. He’d give him three weeks, maybe a month before he kills him. Jongin closed his eyes; it was going to be a long month.

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo tossed and turned in his bed. He was dreaming of everything and nothing at the same time. Suddenly there was a voice calling out to him, “Kyungsoo.” He knew that voice; it could only be one person. Kyungsoo spun around in the blackness that surrounded him and was instantly transported back to the river. He gaped at the beauty of it all once again his eyes absorbing the vivid colors and his lungs filling with the sweet scent of the forest. He looked down and found he was still wearing his night clothes. He shrugged himself out of them and put on the loin cloth he found sitting on a rock. He gazed out at the river again and saw himself sitting awkwardly in one of the pools while Kai swam towards the waterfall. His eyes prickled and his nose stung.

“Kyungsoo?” The voice was behind him and there was a rustling of bushes as Kai climbed out of the forest.

Kyungsoo whipped around and sank to his knees, tears freely flowing from his eyes. He couldn’t believe it, after seven years of wishing he’d be able to dream of him, he had finally shown up. He reached out his shaking hand, “Kai?”

Kai knelt beside him, his eyes glistening. “You have no idea how hard I tried to do this.” He wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo. “I’ve tried so many times.”

Kyungsoo squeezed Kai against him and buried his face in his chest. He looked up at Kai, unable to stop crying. “Tried what?”

“To see you.” Kai nuzzled Kyungsoo’s hair; it had grown out since he last saw him.

“This is a dream.” Kyungsoo shook his head. “I’ve had this dream so many times before, but never once have you shown up here.”

“I know.” Kai cupped Kyungsoo face. “I was not able to get through, but tonight I did and I have something to tell you.”

Kyungsoo wiped his eyes, “I have something to tell you too.”

“You first.”

“I finally found you.” He bit his lip, “Well, actually you found me, again.” He chuckled sadly. “You’re sleeping in the room I had planned to be for you if you ever got homesick.”

“What are you talking about?” Kai pushed him back to arm- length.

“You. You are in my-our house!” Kyungsoo smiled, “Only your name is Jongin.”

Kai frowned. “That’s not me.”

Kyungsoo was unfazed. “Of course it’s you! He– you look just like you!”

Kai shook his head, “That’s not me, I’m sure of it, because I’m here right now.”

“Whatever you say.” Kyungsoo playfully rolled his eyes. This dream was starting to get annoying, but he was just happy to see Kai. “What did you want to tell me?”

“Be careful. Not everything is as it appears, okay?”

“What sort of cryptic message is that supposed to be?” Kyungsoo laughed and hugged Kai again.

Kai brushed his lips across Kyungsoo’s forehead, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Kyungsoo looked up frightened. “Wait, where are you going?”

“I have to go. I can’t be here long.” Kai glanced back at the bushes he came from nervously.

“Don’t go.” Kyungsoo cried as Kai began to fade away in his arms. “Don’t leave me again.” Kyungsoo slumped back against a tree, his tears blurring the blissful scene in front of him of Kai diving to the bottom of the pools and him drawing Kai. He put his head on his knees; he knew how this dream would end with him holding a dying Kai in his arms. It always ended that way.

 


	2. The Plan

 

The next morning Kyungsoo laid in bed feeling numb. He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair and decided to push the dream back into the depths of his mind. He glanced towards the window and squinted at the sun that was shining through. He yawned and winced in pain as he stretched, he was sore from all the tossing and turning the night before.

“May as well start making breakfast.” He mumbled to himself as limped towards the kitchen. Once he was in there he immediately felt at ease. There was something soothing about preparing food. He could easily lose himself doing so and found that as long as he focused on preparing each meal he could force himself not to remember. The scent of a freshly made omelet filled the house and even though the thought of eating made Kyungsoo queasy he could not deny the fact that he was starving. He was about to set the table for himself when Jongin’s jacket hanging on his coat rack caught his attention. ‘ _Oh that’s right, I have a guest._ ’ He quickly made another omelet and poured another glass of fresh goat milk and limped towards the room where Jongin was boarding.

“Ka- Jongin, breakfast is ready.” He called through the door and knocked lightly. When there was no answer he slowly turned the knob and peeked in. There was no one in sight and the window was open, the curtains fluttering with the gentle breeze. Panic rose in Kyungsoo’s throat as he searched the backyard for any sign he was back there. The panic then turned into something else, but Kyungsoo was not sure what. He sighed and closed the door and hobbled back towards the table and ate in silence by himself. He stared at the coat hanging on the coat rack and then at the empty seat in front of him. The omelet was getting cold.

Later Kyungsoo found himself wandering the streets listening to the conversations of the people around him. He passed various food stands with vibrantly colored fruit and vegetables. He smiled to himself as the merchants called out for people to come to their stands to buy their food or whatever product that was being sold. The air was crisp and Kyungsoo pulled his coat tighter around him. He used to love the cold, but now he could barely stand it, it reminded him of loneliness. He soon found himself pushing his way through a large crowd gathered at an alley way. Everyone more or less moved out of his way once he reached the front and frantic whispers reverberated in the crowd. On the ground lay a pale dead body, its face contorted in an expression of pain, its neck was ravaged and bent at an awkward angle. Kyungsoo smiled on the inside but carefully kept his face blank as he neared the body.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to step away from the crime scene.” A man in a gray police uniform was shoving his way through the crowd.

“I just want to examine the wound,” Kyungsoo gestured towards the body. "It may prove a theory I’m currently working on.”

“I don’t care what you’re working on, back away from the body.”

Kyungsoo stepped closer to the body and kneeled down closed inspecting the neck wound.

“Sir, I’m not going to ask you again, back away from the body.” The police officer was beginning to sound angry.

Kyungsoo continued to ignore the man and quickly sketched out the wound on a much smaller, travel-sized notebook. Once he finished he tucked back inside of his coat and docked his hat to the officer who was now red in the face and started to make his way back through the crowd. Whispers surrounded him of people asking who he was and why he was defying the authorities and saying that he was next.

A hand clamped down on his shoulder and spun him around. “Your name sir?”

Kyungsoo stared the officer in the eyes, “Do Kyungsoo.”

The officers eyes widened and his grip became tighter. “You’re coming with me.”

 

~*~

 

Suho tossed a newspaper on Jongin’s face. “Read the headline.”

Jongin scanned the front page and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What do you want me to do? Hide the bodies in the forest or something?” He pushed himself up to a sitting position, “He was going to find the body sooner or later.”

Suho bared his fangs, “Kill him.”

“No.”

“Are you defying me?” Suho looked down at Jongin.

“Not exactly.” He peered up at Suho. “I have a plan.”

“What is your plan?” Suho stared at Jongin.

“Well since this Kyungsoo guy plans on proving our existence, I wanted to see just how close he could get.” Jongin stated.

“That’s stupid.” Suho ran his fingers through his hair.

“But aren’t you curious?”

“No.”

“But he’s the first human to try to do something like this that may actually have a chance.” Jongin stood up and looked down at Suho who was shorter than him, but by no means weaker. He still could not quite figure out why he wanted Kyungsoo to live a little longer but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

“And risk us being discovered? Do you know how hard I worked to get the EXO clan to this point? I worked hard for seventy years to find the perfect location and recruit the perfect members. I will _not_ let you throw all that away just because you’re curious.” Suho’s fangs had fully extended and his face expressed that he was anything but pleased.

“If he gets too close I’ll kill him.” Jongin shrugged and dismissed Suho’s anger. “Or turn him. With his skills we could become even greater.”

Suho glared at him, “Fine. But if this gets too out of hand, I’ll kill your little pet before you singlehandedly destroy all my hard work.”

“Pet?” Jongin chuckled. Kyungsoo was kind of like a pet in a way. He smiled, “As you wish, leader.”

Suho looked at him and walked out of Jongin’s room muttering to himself. Jongin watched him leave with a smirk etched on his face.

A few hours later Jongin found himself in the common room of the EXO mansion, idly playing with a silver dagger. He tossed it up and down and then flung it at the wall where it sank in to the hilt. Sehun opened the door that was next to the location of the newly embedded dagger. He glanced at it questioningly and then his eyes fell on Jongin. “He’s not going to be happy about that.” Sehun gestured to the dagger a smile curving his lips.

“And?” He raised an eyebrow.

“And, you’re already walking on thin ice. I’d watch my back if I were you.” Sehun shrugged.

“Right.” Jongin stood up and strode towards the door. “I’m going out.”

“We have a meeting.”

“I have a pet to look after.” Jongin stated. “Send my regards to Leader Dearest.”

“You may as well not even come back. I heard him discussing this whole thing with Kris. You’re only getting about three months and then they’re killing him regardless.”

Jongin’s hand froze on the door knob he kept his back to Sehun. “Even if he does not discover anything?”

“He’s a threat.” Sehun’s tone was dark. “He has to go one way or another.”

“Oh? Did you hear anything else?” Jongin turned and stared him down.

“Didn’t hear that much.” Sehun shrugged again.

Jongin pursed his lips. He did not want the rest of the clan to go behind his back and do the part he enjoyed most. He glanced back at the dagger buried in the wall and smirked. “Whatever, I’m gone.” He stepped out into the night feeling slightly on edge. He shook his head several times and headed towards Kyungsoo’s house.

He arrived to an empty house and spotted the omelet that was sitting on the breakfast table. He cocked his head in confusion and then realized it was for himself and smirked. “Too bad I don’t need to eat.” He said to himself as he tossed the omelet into the waste bin.

He busied himself by snooping around trying to find whatever evidence Kyungsoo had gathered on him and came up with nothing but a worn sketchbook that was hidden in a box in the very back of Kyungsoo’s closet. He was about to open it when he heard footsteps at the door. He quickly tossed the sketchbook back in the box and hid it in his room under the bed. He figured Kyungsoo would not notice its absence for one night. He quickly assumed a casual position on the bed and pretended to be asleep.

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo limped through the door and sighed heavily. He had just had one of the longest days of his life. Being interrogated by several officers about the mysterious deaths in the town was draining. No matter how many times he denied their claims they would bring up his sketches of their wounds as evidence. Kyungsoo tried to explain that those were sketches of the bodies after they had been found but the officers rebuffed his explanations. So he ended up being locked in a cell for the rest of the day while the officers deliberated on his freedom. Eventually they let him go on the condition that he left the pocket sketchbook with them and he reluctantly agreed.

As he passed the breakfast table he saw that the omelet was no longer there and smiled weakly. _‘At least he ate.’_ He thought to himself and hobbled towards Jongin’s room. He found him asleep and once again smiled to himself. He couldn’t help but see the resemblance between him and Kai and it was especially potent at this moment. He felt his heart clench and slowly closed the door and made his way to his room where he sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands.

Suddenly the door behind him creaked and Kyungsoo jumped and turned around. There was no one at the door. He shivered and got up to close the door but as he did so and hand appeared around it causing Kyungsoo to scream.

“Calm down, it’s me.” Jongin stated flatly.

“Oh.” Kyungsoo scratched his head, blushing. “I thought you were asleep.”

“I can’t sleep when there is some person stumbling through the house.” He stared pointedly at Kyungsoo’s bad leg. “What’s wrong with it?”

Kyungsoo touched his leg absently and kept his gaze to the ground. “Nothing.”

“Oh.” Jongin looked closely at Kyungsoo. “Long day?”

“Yeah.” He whispered. His mind was heading dangerously close to _that_ day and he was trying not to think of it. “Where were you this morning?”

“Not here.” Jongin supplied.

“Oh.” Kyungsoo awkwardly sat down. His leg was beginning to ache more than usual. “I made you breakfast.”

“Well don’t. You won’t see me in the mornings so don’t waste your time.” Jongin left the room.

Kyungsoo stared at his hands and whispered, “Okay.” He felt as though he had been crushed. He couldn’t figure out why Jongin was being so rude to him. He sighed and flopped backwards, “I guess he doesn’t remember me.” He said to no one in particular. He curled on his side and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the dull ache in both his leg and chest. He was asleep in a few seconds. He dreamt of being shot in the leg over and over again.

 


	3. The Past

Jongin lingered outside of Kyungsoo’s for a moment longer. He could hear the soft sounds of him sobbing. He felt something in his chest stir but ignored it. Kyungsoo was his pet after all and he needed to be put in his place from time to time.  Jongin figured keeping a distance between the two of them would make it easier to kill him in the end. He had no intention of becoming attached to that pathetic creature. He was here to see if Kyungsoo was capable of revealing his existence and nothing else.

Jongin padded back to his room and plopped on his bed face first. He was bored and annoyed by the fact that humans needed sleep. He could go weeks without it so long as he fed periodically and he still had the blood from his last victim in his system so he felt particularly wired. He turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling trying to think of something to do while Kyungsoo slept. He contemplated going through more of his stuff but decided against it since it posed too much risk of being discovered. He sighed and put his arm over his eyes. Suddenly he sat up; he remembered the sketchbook he had hidden under his bed. He reached down, grabbed the box it was in and pulled the book onto his lap.

 He flipped to the first page; it was a rough sketch of an insect that Jongin had never seen before. He traced the outline of its body with slight awe. Kyungsoo was a great artist even if it was only a rough sketch. He read the description beneath the drawing and realized that the sketchbook was the notorious sketchbook that had all his discoveries in the New World. Jongin froze at the realization, his fingers barely brushing the page. He shook himself mentally and continued looking through the sketchbook. The next sketch he saw was of a small primate hidden in the canopies of the trees. It seemed as though Kyungsoo had taken his time with this sketch as he had even added in the streams of light that were shining through the leaves surrounding the primate. The fur looked as though it was soft to the touch and its wide eyes looked curious rather than frightened. Jongin laughed to himself, as if anyone would be frightened by a man who looked as though he had seen a ghost seconds before at all times. He continued to flip through the pages pausing on each one to examine it closely and read what was written beneath it.

His breath hitched when he came across a sketch of a young man hiding in the bushes. He had dark colored hair and eyes. His expression was one of curiosity. Jongin swore he could see the hesitation in each line of the boy’s body that Kyungsoo drew. He felt the hairs on the back of neck stand on end as he realized that the boy looked exactly like him before he had been turned. Jongin could no longer see his own reflection anymore so he was not quite sure how he looked now, but he felt he looked more or less the same. His hands began trembling as he traced the outline of the bushes around the boy. There wasn’t too much detail of the foliage, all of Kyungsoo’s attention must have been on the boy, Jongin figured. Jongin stared at the sketch a little longer before he realized that there were words written beneath it.

_One of the members of a local tribe. Seems to have an important status here. Might be the son of the ruler._

Below that, in much different handwriting, a mixture of some type of pictographic language and English was another description. Jongin tried to make out as much as he could but he felt as if there were some parts he was missing due to the language barrier.

_This was the day where I went wrong. Well maybe not wrong but perhaps the day………I wish I had known that……..I never would have fallen in…..Kai I’ll never forget you._

There were about five more lines written beneath it but Jongin had no idea what they meant. He felt as if he had stumbled into something he probably should not have and closed the sketchbook. He stared out at the moon, the same moon that had been sketched on the cover several times and bit his lip. Was that boy Kai? Who was this Kai person anyway? Why would Kyungsoo never forget him? Who was he to him? These were the thoughts that ran through Jongin’s head. He felt slightly unnerved at the fact that the boy looked like him except he was nearly naked, only a loin cloth covering him. He felt even more unnerved about the fact that he was now living with a man that seemed to have some type of history with that boy. Jongin glanced back at the sketchbook and turned to the next page and felt the pressure leave his chest. It was a sketch of a flower very delicately drawn in shades of gray. There was a two line description of the flower beneath it. Jongin flopped back onto his pillow. His mind kept going back to that sketch of the boy. He couldn’t figure out why he felt strange about the whole thing.

He decided that it was time to put the sketchbook back in the box. He knew he would want to look through it some more later on, so he was not going to return it to Kyungsoo yet. He gently picked it up and a page fluttered to the ground. Jongin gingerly grabbed it and turned it over. It was covered in the pictographs of that language but the handwriting seemed more familiar with the pictographs than Kyungsoo’s. At the bottom of the page was a small drawing of two people with their hands against each other staring into each other’s eyes. The drawing was much cruder than the ones in the sketchbook so he figured it was not Kyungsoo who had written or drawn it. He opened the sketchbook to the end and placed the page there, but something else caught his eye. There were several pages filled with the strange language at the back. Each page had a small doodle on it all of them were significantly different than Kyungsoo’s sketches. Jongin stared at the pages, extremely curious to know what was being said. He closed the sketchbook and placed it back in the box and shoved it under the bed.

He sat on the edge of his bed and stared blankly at the walls, his mind swimming with questions. He decided that if he wanted to know about the contents of the sketchbook he’d have to get closer to Kyungsoo. He did not like the idea but his curiosity was getting the best of him. He looked at his door and figured that he may as well stay until morning and at least try to be cordial with Kyungsoo even if it was for his own gain. He sighed and tried to think of a plan to approach him about the subject. He knew that Kyungsoo skirts around the whole trip to the New World even when asked during interviews so Jongin would need to get him extremely comfortable if he wanted any information out of him.

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo was surrounded by darkness. It felt heavy and suffocating, his limbs moved sluggishly and he was sure that he was dreaming. He let the darkness settle over him until he could breathe again and found himself sitting on rock outside of a cave. The place felt familiar but he couldn’t quite figure out where he was. Kyungsoo looked around and recognized the trees and other plant life. He was back in the New World. He knew that he and Kai were in the cave unknowingly waiting for their death sentence. He started towards the cave but figured that trying to relive that moment would only leave him feeling worse so he started towards the village.

Stepping over various roots from the trees and avoiding the vines that hung above his head, he found himself getting lost in the darkness of the forest. Everything looked different at night and considering his surroundings were from memory things were constantly shifting around.

“Kyungsoo!” A voice called from the darkness.

Kyungsoo froze. He knew that voice anywhere, he spun around and was tackled to the ground by Kai who was now tugging Kyungsoo’s night shirt off. At first Kyungsoo did not mind the fact that Kai was now sitting on top of him trying to remove his clothes, but the glint in his eyes was off and this unnerved him. Kyungsoo stared up at him in confusion. “This isn’t supposed to happen.”

Kai cocked his head to the side and his fingers fumbled with the buttons. “Help me.” He pouted when Kyungsoo made no move to help him. “You know you want to.”

Kyungsoo shoved Kai off of him and brushed himself off. This whole experience felt wrong, very wrong and he suddenly felt angry, as if he were about to explode. He clenched his hands into fists and struck out at Kai, who barely dodged the attack.

“What are you doing?” Kai’s eyes had widened in fear.

“You’re not the real Kai!” Kyungsoo screamed. He was breathing heavily and he felt his anger reaching its breaking point. Whoever this imposter was, it was not Kai, at least not the same Kai he met in his previous dream.

“But I am the real Kai.” Kai whispered and gazed at Kyungsoo with a strange look on his face.

“No you’re not. The real Kai is in my house, only he doesn’t remember me, yet.” Kyungsoo’s head began pounding; he crumpled to the ground holding his hands against his temples.

“Yes I am. And he won’t remember you because he’s not me. I am me. I am here right now.” Kai knelt down next to Kyungsoo and placed a hand on his shoulder lightly.

Kyungsoo did not move. His head had stopped hurting at Kai’s touch. He looked up at him out of the corner of his eye. He could have sworn he saw Kai’s face flash into another person’s face but it could have been a trick of the light, or a part of his dream.

Kai gently pulled Kyungsoo into his embrace and held him. They remained like that for a few moments, listening to each other’s heartbeats. Kyungsoo decided that he was just having a strange dream and figured he would go along with it. Kyungsoo rested his head in Kai’s lap sighing loudly and Kai looked down at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Why won’t you remember me? Am I that forgettable?” Kyungsoo felt heavy again, like someone had his feet and they were pulling him down under water.

“No.” Kai caressed Kyungsoo’s face. “You’re not, trust me. But that person you say is me is not me.”

Kyungsoo closed his eyes and sighed again he was feeling odd again but could not figure out why. “I don’t understand…” He said more to himself than to Kai.

“He’s not me because I am me. How many times do I have to tell you this?” Kai gently shook Kyungsoo.

“I don’t believe you. This is a dream.”  He twirled a lock of Kai’s hair around his finger, it felt different than he had remembered but he figured that it was another aspect of the dream.

“Yes I know it’s a dream, but I’m real for right now.” Kai grabbed Kyungsoo’s hands and gently brushed his lips against them, as if proving his existence.

“Sure.” Kyungsoo casted his eyes downward, wet his lips and stared at Kai’s hands which were resting on Kyungsoo’s thighs.

“Please listen, I’m trying to tell you that-” He was cut off by Kyungsoo suddenly kissing him.

“Sorry.” Kyungsoo pulled away and blushed. “I haven’t done that in years and you left so abruptly last time and I wanted to remember how it felt, even if it is a dream.”

“Oh now you want to um,” Kai shyly looked at the ground.

“This is a dream after all.” Kyungsoo shrugged and laid back on the ground waiting for Kai to get the hint.

“Oh.” He began fumbling with the buttons once more and finally gave up and just ripped the night shirt off. Kai’s face flashed again but Kyungsoo ignored it.

Kyungsoo’s breathing quickened in anticipation and butterflies fluttered in his stomach. He waited to feel Kai’s lips on his skin but was met with a different sensation altogether. Pain coursed through him and he looked down and saw sharp teeth biting into his skin just above his hip. The lips were the same as Kai’s but the eyes were completely different. They were cold and calculating. Kyungsoo tried to move but found his body was not responding. Blood spilled out from the bite and Jongin lapped it up with his tongue. Kyungsoo grew nauseous; he felt his stomach turn and prayed his legs would start working so he could at least kick Jongin off of him. “Wha- What are you doing?”

“Drinking your blood.” Jongin smirked. “What else could I be doing?” He trailed his tongue down farther from the bite.

“St- Stop…please…I don’t like this.” Kyungsoo stuttered as Jongin glared at him licking every drop of blood without breaking eye contact.

“Oh, but I thought you wanted this?” Jongin stared at him; his eyes were now glowing red.

Finally Kyungsoo could move, he shoved Jongin off of him and scrambled to his feet and began running through the forest. He narrowly avoided running right into a tree and stumbled over some roots a couple of times. His lungs burned as he sprinted down the hillside and his legs ached. The dream was not supposed to turn out like this. He somehow knew this and tried to focus all his thoughts on Kai, but his mind kept going back to seeing Jongin’s teeth sink into his flesh. He ducked under a low branch and skidded to a stop before he ran right into Jongin.

“You seem to have forgotten that I’m not human.” Jongin smirked and grabbed Kyungsoo by the neck and lifted him into the air. He still looked exactly like Kai, wearing only a loincloth but something was off.

Kyungsoo saw dots at the edge of his vision; he clawed at Jongin’s grip. He tried to speak but all that came out was a strangled croak. Jongin’s fingers tightened around his throat.

“Funny how things aren’t as they seem right?” His voice was now different, rougher and heavily accented.

Kyungsoo struggled and kicked his legs just barely missing Jongin’s exposed torso. He watched in horror as Jongin’s face morphed into that of the man who had discovered them in the cave. The grip unexpectedly loosened on his neck and Kyungsoo collapsed to the ground coughing. He looked up at the man with tears in his eyes.

“Look familiar, don’t I?” The man laughed.

Kyungsoo stood up slowly, rage rising within. “Why did you destroy this village?” Shock filled him as he asked the question.

The man shrugged, “How should I know? This is a dream and I’m only a figment of your imagination.”

Kyungsoo shook his head. He had forgotten it was a dream, everything felt so real to him.

The man laughed again and pulled out his sword, which then turned into a snake that bit his hand. He screamed and fell to his knees clutching his wrist while the snake slithered away into the bushes. Kyungsoo watched as the skin on the man’s face bubbled and melted off. He jumped back as the ground made a cracking sound and swallowed the corpse. Behind him he felt Kai’s presence so he turned around and saw him waving sadly from the edge of the forest before he faded away.

Suddenly Kyungsoo bolted upright in his bed, drenched in sweat, breathing hard. He ran his fingers through his damp hair and scanned his room quickly to get his bearings. Once he confirmed that he was in his room he untangled his legs from his sheets and wobbled towards the chair in the corner of his room and sat down. He pulled his knees to his chest and stared blankly at his bed as he tried to decipher the meaning of his strange dream. He was aware that snakes were signs of deceit but he was not sure who had deceived him lately. He considered the dream-Jongin biting him as a type of metaphor for him being very curt with his comments earlier. He felt his cheeks grow warm as he thought of Kai trying to undress him. He sighed and curled up on the chair in a more comfortable position and drifted off to sleep once more.

 

~*~

 

Jongin glanced at the window, the sun was rising which meant he either had to leave now or find some way to stay out of the sunlight while he was in the house. He jumped out of bed and padded towards Kyungsoo’s room which was still blanketed in darkness and peeked in. Kyungsoo was curled up on the chair in the corner of his room and the air smelled like perspiration. Jongin wrinkled his nose and closed the door and walked towards the kitchen. If he was going to get to know Kyungsoo he may as well try to start things off on a bright note. He looked in the cabinets for some pots and began making breakfast. He hadn’t cooked in years but that did not stop him from trying his best to make it edible.

Jongin cursed in exasperation and threw the pot, food and all, into the sink. “Why is everything burning?” There was enough food in decent condition for Kyungsoo to eat as long as he wasn’t too hungry.

“What are you doing?” Kyungsoo asked, his voice thick with sleep, as he limped into the kitchen.

Jongin felt his lips quirk into a smile. Kyungsoo’s hair was pushed up in the side from sleeping in the chair and he still had the imprints from his fingers on his cheek. “Making you some food.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes bugged out as he took in the scene in his kitchen. Food was splattered on the walls, pots were tossed haphazardly into the sink, and there were bits of his wooden spoon in Jongin’s hair. “What did you do?!”

Jongin glanced around the kitchen. It was dirty but not too bad. He shrugged, “Relax I made you breakfast.”

Kyungsoo pushed past him and shook his head in disbelief at the mess. “I- why?”

Jongin reached out to grab Kyungsoo’s shoulders and pulled his hand back as soon as he touched him, electricity coursing through him. He turned to face the wall and spoke in monotone. “Sit down. I gave up my precious time to make you something. Eat it.”

Kyungsoo wobbled over to the breakfast table and sat down staring at the plate in front of him and wrinkled his nose. “I’m supposed to eat this?”

Jongin pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at Kyungsoo through his fingers. “Yes. I know it doesn’t look pretty, but give it a chance. Looks can be deceiving you know.”

Kyungsoo stiffened at his words but said nothing. He stared at the plate of slightly over cooked eggs and not quite fully cooked pastry on his plate and poked at it with his fork. He glanced up at Jongin uncertainly and put a forkful in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. He swallowed with some effort and gulped down the tea in the glass in front of him and forced a smile. "It’s not _that_ bad.”

Jongin rolled his eyes. “Don’t patronize me. If it’s horrible tell me.” He hated the way his pet smiled at him with warm eyes. He hated the way his jaw moved as he chewed the food and the way his Adam’s apple bobbed when he drank his tea. He hated the way he watched him with longing and sadness in his eyes. Jongin knew he had a specific goal in mind and he hated how every little thing Kyungsoo was doing was getting under his skin.

Kyungsoo licked his lips and grinned nervously. “No, it’s really not that bad, really. Maybe a little over cooked but I don’t mind.”

“Right.” Jongin leaned against the counter and watched as Kyungsoo forced every last bit of food on his plate into his mouth. He could tell he didn’t like it and this made a very small part of Jongin sad, but it mostly annoyed him.

“What happened to me not seeing you in the mornings?” Kyungsoo asked lightly after he took another gulp of tea.

“I unexpectedly had a day off.” Jongin stared at Kyungsoo, who winced at the tone he used.

“Oh.” He fidgeted in his seat for a second and then stood up and hobbled over to the sink to begin washing the dishes.

Jongin suddenly sprang into action and accidently brushed his arm against Kyungsoo causing another current of electricity to course through him. He bit his lip and cursed under his breath. “Hey I’ll wash the dishes since I messed them up.”

Kyungsoo turned and smiled brightly at him, “Nonsense! You went through so much trouble to cook for me, so I should repay you by cleaning up.”

Jongin stared at him again, ignoring the fact his own pulse quickened at the sight of Kyungsoo’s smile. “Okay.” He started towards his room and called back over his shoulder, “Don’t disturb me.”

Kyungsoo tensed and the glass slipped through his fingers and shattered in the sink. He reached down to pick up the pieces and cut his finger.

The smell of his blood wafted through the air and struck Jongin like a boulder. He gripped the door frame a little too tightly and cracked it. He could feel his fangs descending and his ears focused on the sound of Kyungsoo’s heartbeat and breathing. Jongin threw his head back and sniffed the air, Kyungsoo’s blood smelled absolutely enticing. He shuddered and fought the urge to turn around and face him and lost. He was suddenly behind Kyungsoo, chest against his back, gazing at the crimson strand of blood that travelled down the drain. He stifled a small moan and leaned over to turn the faucet on to rinse Kyungsoo’s hand.

Kyungsoo froze at first and then relaxed and Jongin dipped his hand under the cool water. “You don’t have to do that.”

Jongin said nothing. He knew that if he tried to speak he’d want to bring Kyungsoo’s bleeding finger to his lips, so he just let out the breath he was holding slowly against Kyungsoo’s neck.

Kyungsoo shifted his weight from his bad leg to his good leg and froze once more as Jongin’s warm breath caressed his neck. “I can take care of this myself you know.” He squeaked out and swallowed nervously as Jongin delicately ran his thumb over the cut where another bead of blood was forming.

Unable to control himself, Jongin brought his thumb to his mouth and tasted Kyungsoo’s blood. He bit back another moan and quickly grabbed a rag to wrap around Kyungsoo’s cut. All his muscles tensed once more as Kyungsoo shifted in front of him again. “Stop moving.” He grunted, trying to force himself not to bite Kyungsoo right then and there.

“Sorry.” Kyungsoo whispered and forced himself to stand absolutely still.

The problem for Jongin was that even the small movements of him breathing were too much. He finished bandaging up Kyungsoo and his hand lingered over the bandages for a moment too long before he met Kyungsoo’s gaze. Kyungsoo gasped slightly and stepped back out of surprise and Jongin abruptly turned around and half sprinted to his room and slammed the door.

“What’s wrong with me?” He panted. The small amount of blood he had allowed himself to taste still remained on his tongue and he closed his eyes to savor it as he slid onto his bed. He had never been this affected by blood before and the fact that Kyungsoo’s blood caused such a strong reaction from him scared him. He yearned to taste his blood once more and the thought only excited him more. He rolled onto his stomach and buried his face into the pillow to force the thought out of his head. He could not give anymore hints of what he was so he had to find a way to control himself around Kyungsoo’s blood. The thought of Kyungsoo’s blood passed through his mind again and he bit his lip viciously causing his own blood to surface. He quickly wiped his mouth with his hand, drinking one’s own blood was not recommended as it usually caused vampires to go insane, but Jongin already felt as if he was going insane.

Kyungsoo popped his head through the door, “Are you okay?”

Jongin watched his gaze travel over his body and laughed bitterly as a rosy colored emerged on Kyungsoo’s cheeks. “I’m fine.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes lingered on him a bit longer before they snapped up to meet his gaze, “Oh that’s good.” He stepped hesitantly into the room and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, a beam of sunlight danced on his face.

Jongin watched the beam of sunlight with envy; if he had been standing there he would have been burned. He rolled onto his side and propped his head up on his hand. He could still faintly smell Kyungsoo’s blood, but he was focusing on the beam of light to clear his mind.

“Um, I wanted to thank you for bandaging me up.” He gestured with his bandaged hand and smiled shyly.

“No problem.” Jongin continued to watch the beam of sunlight and ignored the sensation in his stomach he felt when Kyungsoo smiled.

Kyungsoo awkwardly bowed and started hobbling towards the door.

“Wait.” Jongin paused, “You never told me what happened to your leg.”

Kyungsoo’s expression saddened and he sighed. "It’s a long story…”

Jongin smiled; somehow Kyungsoo had warmed up to him. “I have time.” He sat up in the bed and leaned against the wall.

Kyungsoo swayed and bit his lip, “Okay…”

Jongin patted the bed, “Sit.” He chuckled inwardly when Kyungsoo sat on the very edge of the bed as far from Jongin as he could.

“So, I was fresh out of school and I had received a letter to join a crew of experienced biologists on their voyage to the New World and…” Kyungsoo told Jongin about how he ended up left behind after the ship left without him. He told him about discovering various animals he discovered and how he drew them in his sketchbook.

Jongin listened intently and noticed how Kyungsoo blinked back tears when he mentioned being discovered by the emperor’s son. He noticed how he hugged himself as he described the boy’s appearance and told of how he drew him as well. He watched with curiosity as Kyungsoo told him of the village and its people and how he wasn’t accepted at first but later on became highly respected and loved by the people. He felt an odd stirring in his chest when Kyungsoo mentioned how he and the boy had celebrated the boy’s birthday and how they slept in each other’s arms at night. He remained stoned faced when tears rolled down Kyungsoo’s cheeks as he relayed details of how to play the village’s favorite game.

“Then, despite the feeling of dread that was growing within me, I followed him to the cave that night.” He hiccupped and wiped his tears with the sleeves of his night shirt. “I wish I had known that that was our last night of freedom. I really cared for the boy you know?” He glanced at Jongin and smiled weakly. “I still do after all these years. He would have been a great Zipa…” Kyungsoo trailed off again and his shoulders shook.

“So what happened to him, the boy I mean.” Jongin asked. He already knew the answer but he wanted to hear it from Kyungsoo’s lips.

“He died.” Kyungsoo had stopped crying by then and was just hugging himself again, an empty look on his face. “He died on the ship.” Kyungsoo stared at the ground and whispered, “He died in my arms.”

Jongin stared at Kyungsoo and reached a hand out tentatively to pat Kyungsoo on the back. "It’s alright.” He smiled weakly, for some reason seeing a man this broken touched him. He felt a sort of kinship right then. “He’s with you in spirit.”

Kyungsoo wiped his nose and smiled back. “Thanks.” He sighed and started to get up to leave. “You’ve heard my sob story, but please don’t think differently of me.”

Jongin laughed, “We all have one don’t we?”

Kyungsoo paused with his hand on the door knob. “Oh?”

“I was an orphan as well, but that’s a story for another time.” He stared at Kyungsoo until he left the room and then flopped on his back. _‘So that’s why he’s so hollow.’_ Jongin thought and then grinned darkly. _‘Hollow just like me.’_ He rolled onto his side curled into fetal position as he thought of his own childhood.

 

~*~

 

 


	4. Memories

A few days later, Kyungsoo and Jongin had fallen in a routine. Every morning Kyungsoo would make breakfast and Jongin would wash the dishes afterwards while Kyungsoo sipped on some tea, watching his every move with curious eyes. Jongin knew he was looking for similarities between him and the boy and did nothing to aid the cause.

They had not spoken to each other much since Kyungsoo had told Jongin of his ordeal in the New World, but that did not keep Jongin’s mind off of it. Every time he so much as caught a whiff of Kyungsoo his mind went back to the sobbing broken man sitting at the edge of his bed, hugging himself as if it would keep him from falling to pieces. Although they did share greetings in the mornings, usually some mumbled words from Kyungsoo and a grunt in response from Jongin as they passed each other on their way to the kitchen or a half smile from Kyungsoo when Jongin complemented him on his cooking abilities as he forced each bite down unwillingly, there was not much interaction between the two of them. However this bothered Jongin a lot, he had just gotten Kyungsoo to open up to him about his past but it seemed as soon as he did, he closed himself back up.

For Kyungsoo the silence was welcome, he had pulled back into himself lately and was not feeling up to conversing with Jongin, especially not since every time he made eye contact with him his heart squeezed and his eyes stung at the memories that surged forth.

Jongin had not touched the sketchbook since Kyungsoo had shared his story. All of a sudden, he felt awkward looking into someone’s personal life uninvited. A week ago he would not have cared, but something in the way Kyungsoo’s face contorted when he tried to avoid saying the boy’s name, made him hesitant.

He laid in bed, trapped inside the house because it was at least another three hours from sunset, and tossed the apple Kyungsoo had given him for breakfast. He had absolutely no need for human food and found it tasted quite awful in fact. He had forced down nearly every bite of food on his plate earlier and threw it up in the waste bin, as his body rejected the food completely, and Kyungsoo happened to hear him on this morning of all mornings. He was already worried by the fact that another body had shown up and he hadn’t had the chance to investigate and now that he had caught Jongin puking he was even more worried about him. He left about an hour earlier, after giving orders for Jongin to remain in bed and drink lots of fluids. Jongin chuckled when he mentioned fluid because there was one particular fluid he had a craving for lately and it was currently coursing through Kyungsoo’s veins. At the thought of Kyungsoo’s blood Jongin groaned as his fangs descended and his senses went into over drive. His ears strained for the familiar thumping of Kyungsoo’s heart even though he was not even in the house.

Sighing, Jongin sat up and threw his legs over the edge of the bed causing his feet to brush against the box the sketchbook was in.  Grateful for the distraction, he sighed again and picked up the box and took it to Kyungsoo’s room. His sense of smell was still particularly sensitive at this point and as soon as he placed the box back where he originally found it he stood in the center of the room and inhaled deeply.

Kyungsoo smelled differently than most people in the village, instead of the constant intoxicating scent of ripe fear and paranoia he smelled earthy and wild, as if he had taken a part of the New World with him everywhere he went. In a sense he did, and in another sense he left part of himself back in the New World. Jongin closed his eyes and inhaled again, the earthy scent reminded him of his own home, much further south and permanently ingrained in his memories.

Jongin thought back to a particular day during his childhood, or what he called his childhood since he was not physically older than he appeared now. He thought of the rich earthy smell right after a long downpour. He remembered sitting on his front porch staring at the pathway leading to his family’s estate waiting for his father’s arrival. His gaze then flickered from the path way and over to the newly formed puddles from the light shower that began a few minutes earlier. He threw a pebble into one of the puddles and watched as the ripples travelled towards the edge.

He remembered the feeling of tranquility for that spilt second while he watched the ripples. He glanced over his shoulder back at the house and saw his mother sobbing over a bloodied shirt she was clutching in her hands. Suddenly Jongin was hit by the realization that old habits die hard. He was waiting for a man that would never return. A man whose eyes crinkled when he smiled and were nearly nonexistent when he laughed. A man who had showed him how to fish the traditional way and how to select the perfect bait for each particular species. A man who patted him on the shoulder a few days ago and told him to wait for him to return. A man who left with a smile on his face as walked to meet up with a few of his friends to go out for a relaxing fishing trip down by the coast. A man who pecked his mother on the cheek and told her not to worry about him. A man who did not know he was going to die a few hours later and leave his entire family behind. A man whose body was never found and instead an empty casket with his name carved on it was buried beneath several layers of earth that the rain was now soaking through, tendrils snaking their way down to speed up the process of its decay.

He remembered stepping off the porch and landing with a splash onto the rain saturated earth. He remembered numbly walking into the wooded area to the east of his house not caring if the rain drenched his thin shirt. He remembered ducking under low hanging branches and half tripping over the protruding roots of the trees. He stumbled once, twisting his ankle and ignored the tear that escaped his eye as his face was scratched by the rough bark. He had not shed a single tear over his father’s death, for the fear of being dubbed as weak. He swallowed all of his emotions and tightly corked them and tried to forget the fact his father had died a few days earlier. Part of him was still in shock, and part of him knew that he was going to explode at any moment, yet he contained it quite well. He winced as he came down hard on his bad ankle after tripping over another root and his palm was cut as he gripped the trunk for balance.

He remembered the cold sweat that broke out on his skin as a piercing scream shook the air from the direction of his house. His heart hammered and he half limped half ran back in the direction of his house, not fazed by the branches that were scratching his face as he failed to push them out of the way. All his mind was concerned with was getting back home to make sure his family was safe. He stopped at the edge of the wooded area and watched in horror as a man with red hair, who he later learned was called Suho, dropped the pale still body of one of his sisters to the ground. He tried to move but his legs would not so much as twitch as the man moved on to his other sister who screamed Jongin’s name before her neck was snapped and she too fell lifeless to the ground. Another man with blonde hair, named Kris, knelt over her body and bit her wrist eagerly draining her of her blood.

Jongin legs still refused to move and all he could do was let out a gurgled scream as the red haired man drained the life out of his mother. Hearing the sound, the man turned and looked right at Jongin, eyes glowing red and fangs descended and glistening with the scarlet life force of his mother.

He remembered his legs finally giving out beneath him as he collapsed face first into the moist earth. It had stopped raining by now and Jongin’s nose was filled by the wet earthy scent as his tears brimmed over and ran sideways into the soil. He remembered hearing the crunch of boots approaching him and inhaled one last time before he closed his eyes preparing for his own death right as they came into view. It was his last human memory, the most vivid of all his memories combined and the one that still had the power to reduce him to tears.

Jongin opened his eyes and found himself laying prostrate on Kyungsoo’s bed, nose buried in his pillows, tears escaping his eyes, and his legs tangled in his sheets. A strange sense of comfort, déjà vu, and sadness filled him as he wiped his face on the pillow and sat up. His hair was ruffled and his eyes felt sore from crying. The familiar empty feeling soon returned and he pushed himself off the bed and out the door.

 He stumbled out of the front door and headed towards the market where dozens of people would be milling about giving him a chance to catch a victim much more quickly. He scanned the crowd and locked on to his target, a young man who was just thrown out of a tavern. He stalked him for several blocks as the young man muttered to himself drunkenly about not being drunk. Jongin felt his fangs slowly descend and his senses heighten. The young man tripped into an alley way. ‘ _Perfect,_ ’ thought Jongin as he followed him into the alley. He hadn’t fed for the past few days and after that episode he experienced from Kyungsoo’s blood, he desperately needed blood. The young man had passed out and was laying on top of a pile of trash. Jongin wrinkled his nose as he picked out the scents of rotting food combined with feces and urine. He glanced behind him and carried the man farther into the shadows so he would not be seen as he drank his blood. Sinking his teeth into the man’s wrist he sighed as the blood filled his mouth. This was exactly what he needed, a fresh kill. The blood was tainted by the alcohol in the man’s system but Jongin figured being a little drunk could not hurt too much tonight. Once he had his fill he dropped the man’s wrist and made his way back to Kyungsoo's house.

His hand hovered over the doorknob to his room when he heard the telltale limping gait of Kyungsoo on the gravel out front. He quickly slid into his room and under the sheets and feigned illness.

Kyungsoo burst through his door exclaiming that he had returned and Jongin stifled a chuckle. He was still grinning as Kyungsoo hobbled into his room carrying a small bag full of clinking glasses. He mumbled something about being sorry for taking so long and knelt down by Jongin’s bed to get a closer look at him. He gently placed a hand on Jongin’s forehead he cocked his head to the side in confusion.

Jongin inhaled sharply at the sudden contact and stiffened. Kyungsoo smelled even more delectable than ever before and Jongin nervously bit his lip to hold back urge to pull Kyungsoo onto the bed. He felt himself flush at the thought of Kyungsoo squirming beneath him right before he sunk his teeth into his flesh and shook his head to clear his mind. Of course his mind had other ideas and he found himself thinking about where he would bite him and he flushed again.

Then Kyungsoo’s hand traveled from Jongin’s forehead towards his neck and Jongin sprung up into a sitting position. Kyungsoo’s hand remained frozen over the area where Jongin was a few seconds before and slowly retracted his hand as he stared up at Jongin with an expression crossed between hurt and more confusion. Jongin cleared his throat, “I don’t like my neck being touched.” Truthfully he was afraid that Kyungsoo would discover his lack of a pulse and then put two and two together and then his whole experiment would come crashing down in a matter of seconds. He was not ready to kill him yet, not when he still had so much to learn about him. He ignored the twinge of apprehension he felt when he thought of killing Kyungsoo and stared into his doe-like eyes instead.

Kyungsoo nodded and reached for Jongin’s wrist and Jongin jerked back again. “I need to check your pulse.”

Jongin stared at him, fear bubbling up within him before he squashed it down and forced a steely look on his face. “My pulse is fine.”

Kyungsoo bit his lip and grabbed his bag and looked for the bottle containing the remedy for nausea. He uncorked the bottle and handed it to Jongin, “Here take this.” He bit his lip a little harder than he meant to when Jongin continued to stare at him and a bead of blood formed.

Suddenly Jongin was inches away from Kyungsoo’s face, one hand on the back of his head and the other gripping his arm tight enough to leave a bruise. The bottle of medicine clamored to the ground and the liquid spilled out onto the floor. Kyungsoo gasped and stared into Jongin’s eyes full of surprise. Jongin closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, the intoxicating aroma of Kyungsoo’s blood leaving him more drunk than the young man from the alley. He wet his lips and shuddered against his will and Kyungsoo gulped.

“Are-are you okay, Jongin?” Kyungsoo stammered and licked the bead of blood off his own lip.

Jongin shuddered again as the scent of blood on Kyungsoo’s breath washed over him. He fought the urge to close the distance between their lips and pushed Kyungsoo away so hard that he tumbled onto his back. “Get out.”

Kyungsoo winced and propped himself up on his elbows before slowly pushing himself to his feet. He swayed slightly and rubbed the back of his head where he had hit it against the floor. He glanced down at the nearly empty bottle and picked it up with trembling hands all while keeping his gaze firmly on Jongin. He held the bottle out to him again, “You should really take this.”

Jongin glared at the bottle and snatched it from Kyungsoo’s hand and gulped it down. “Happy?” he sneered. “Now leave.”

Kyungsoo flinched at his tone and hobbled to the door and cast one last look over his should at Jongin. “If you need anything, you know where I am.”

“Whatever.” Jongin flopped back on the bed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He waited to hear the click of the door shutting before he balled his hand into a fist and slammed it against the bed. ‘ _Why does his blood affect me so strongly?_ ’ he thought as squeezed the bottle in his other hand until it shattered. He stared at his hand as the darker than normal blood slowly oozed out of the cuts on his hand. Why was he so unstable around him? One minute he wanted to rip out Kyungsoo’s jugular and the next he wanted to kiss him? Where were these feelings coming from? How was it that he was falling for his pet? Kyungsoo was a broken man that had shown him nothing but kindness and yet somehow Jongin wanted to drain the life out of him. The first person to genuinely care for his wellbeing and here he was pushing him away and injuring him. ‘ _I’m nothing but poison to him.’_ Jongin thought as he clenched his bloody hand into a fist and struck the mattress again, staining the sheets with his blood. ‘ _Why should I even care though?’_ Thoughts that were constantly contradicting themselves flew through his mind as he punched the mattress again and again. Growing tired he flopped onto his back and wiped his hand down his face.

 

~*~

 

A few hours later Kyungsoo found Jongin washing his hand vigorously under the faucet. “Is everything okay?” Jongin turned to face Kyungsoo, blood still on his face. Kyungsoo jumped and his hand rose to cover his mouth. “Wh-what happened to your face?”

Jongin chuckled, “Oh I cut my hand on the bottle and I guess I forgot and touched my face.”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo sighed in relief and nudged Jongin aside so he could help him clean his hand, “Let me help you,” he smiled crookedly, “You know, like when you helped me.”

Jongin shrugged and let Kyungsoo rinse the blood off of him. Kyungsoo noticed that Jongin’s hands were much bigger than his own and this reminded him of Kai. However he did not feel the usual pang of sadness, instead he felt nothing, as he gingerly rubbed the blood off of him. He grabbed a rag and dipped it under the water, “Sit down so I can reach your face.”

Jongin did as he was told and let Kyungsoo wash his face. Kyungsoo bit his lip as he gently wiped the blood off of Jongin’s face. He gasped slightly when Jongin grabbed his wrist and tossed the rag into the sink and then grabbed both of his hands and gazed up into Kyungsoo’s eyes. “Thank you for cleaning me up.” There was a hidden message in what he said but Kyungsoo was not sure what it was and smiled genuinely for the first time in the last few days. Jongin returned the smile and continued to hold onto Kyungsoo’s hands for a moment longer before slowly letting them go.

“You’re welcome.” Kyungsoo bowed slightly and stared shyly at his feet.

Jongin bit his lip and mumbled, “Sorry about before.” He glanced up at Kyungsoo who was now looking up at him, “I don’t like being on the receiving end of someone’s pity. And when you look at me like that with those sad eyes, I can’t take it.”

“Sad eyes?” Kyungsoo had no clue what Jongin was talking about. In fact despite the fact that Jongin had hurt him recently he could not help but feel happy just knowing that there was someone for him to take care of, someone for him to return home to even if he was a little rough around the edges. In fact, ever since Jongin began staying with him, Kyungsoo had found that he began to feel again. Not just emotions, but also the warmth of the sun whenever he walked to the market, or the coolness of the air that turned his cheeks red as he worked in his garden after eating breakfast, or the occasional softness of Jongin’s gaze when he thought Kyungsoo was not looking. He liked these moments of happiness and felt as though they were worth all the confusion and hurt Jongin put him through. He felt as though he was making some sort of progress to make him less cold and any moment no matter how small was worth a world of discomfort.

Jongin nodded, “You have the eyes of a man who has seen his entire world come crashing down and is waiting for whatever fragile sort of shelter he’s created to go the same route.”

“I have.” Kyungsoo whispered, his moment of happiness quickly retreated and was replaced by a numbness.

“So have I, but you don’t see me moping around do you?” He grabbed Kyungsoo’s hands again and squeezed them reassuringly, "It’s time for you to let go of the past.”

Fear and sadness welled up inside of Kyungsoo and he blinked back tears and shook his head. “I can’t.”

“Yes you can.”

“No I can’t. I promised I would never forget.”

“You don’t have to forget, just let go, and open up to new opportunities or focus on your work or something.”

Kyungsoo pulled his hands out of Jongin’s and shook his head again. "It’s not that easy.” He just wanted to go back to his room and cry.

Jongin jumped to his feet and started putting his coat on. “Come on, I have somewhere to take you.”

Kyungsoo’s heart squeezed as he remembered the morning Kai had dragged him to celebrate his birthday. “Where are we going?” He smiled sadly as he remembered that he had said the same thing over seven years ago.

Jongin grabbed Kyungsoo’s coat and held it out to him “You’ll see.” He helped him put it on and handed him his hat and opened the door for them to leave. Kyungsoo hesitated in the doorway and glanced back at the walking cane he bought earlier, his leg seemed to be getting worse, and then back at Jongin who simply held out his arm, “You won’t need that as long as I’m with you.”

Kyungsoo allowed himself to fully grasp the meaning of what Jongin said before he grinned from ear to ear. He grabbed Jongin’s arm and they set off at a steady pace that was manageable. “Thank you for this.” He gazed up at Jongin in the moonlight and had an eerie sensation of being watched from the shadows but he shook it off.

Jongin nodded and patted Kyungsoo’s hand and they continued at the leisurely pace until they reached the center of town. Soon Jongin was pulling Kyungsoo behind him through the crowds. People parted before Jongin even reached them, a look of discomfort on their faces. Kyungsoo was not quite sure why they did so and was even more perturbed by the way they whispered to one another and shied away from his gaze. He was walking as fast as he could but his leg was growing more painful with each step and his breathing was becoming labored.

“Jongin slow down please,” he gasped, “My leg – I can’t keep up.”

Jongin abruptly stopped and turned to face Kyungsoo, a strange look on his face. Kyungsoo used Jongin’s arm to keep his balance as he panted. Jongin glanced around and then hailed a carriage over to where they stood. The driver squinted at Jongin for a second before jumping in to action and directing the horses towards them.

“My apologies, sir.” The man bowed. “I was unaware of your status.”

Kyungsoo gaped at Jongin and smiled nervously at the man, rubbing his thigh with the palm of his hand to help dull the pain.

Jongin stared at the man and lifted Kyungsoo‘s arm around his shoulder and helped him into the carriage. He closed the door and pulled all but the one behind Kyungsoo closed. “Better?”

Kyungsoo stared at Jongin. He looked harsher in the moonlight. He looked more calculating and his movements seemed much more fluid and predatory. Kyungsoo tried to swallow but his mouth had run dry as he stared at Jongin in a much different light. He settled with nodding and fidgeted in his seat across from Jongin.

Jongin then smiled, it looked forced to Kyungsoo, and called out to the driver to take him to his usual place.

Kyungsoo rocked with the movement of the carriage but Jongin remained perfectly still. He cleared his throat, “So what was the whole status thing about?”

Jongin waved his hand dismissively, “I come from old money.”

“Oh.” Kyungsoo stared at his hands in his lap and tried to think of something else to say.

“I think you’ll like where I’m taking you.”

Kyungsoo looked up, “And where is that exactly?”

“Somewhere special to me.” Jongin smirked. Then he leaned across the small distance between them and placed his hand on Kyungsoo’s thigh. “Is this where it hurts?”

Kyungsoo balked at him and tried to scramble out of Jongin’s touch. “Y – Yes.”

 Jongin squeezed Kyungsoo’s thigh slightly and leaned back, folding his hand in his lap. “You’re being awfully skittish right now.” He smirked again and raised his eyebrow, “Do you not like me touching you?”

Kyungsoo felt his cheeks grow red and was grateful for the darkness in the carriage. "It’s not that, I’m just not used to it.”

“I see.” Jongin smiled again, however it was not a pleasant one, it was one that held many secrets and messages, messages that Kyungsoo was not sure if he liked or not.

The next hour of their ride was uneventful and silent, both lost in their thoughts. Kyungsoo stole several glances at Jongin and was caught several times but he pretended he did not notice Jongin noticing him. After a while of staring at his hands and Jongin, he slid over closer to the window and pulled the curtains back a bit to watch the scenery go by. He smiled to himself when he realized that they were in a densely wooded area and pushed open the window to breathe in the air. It did not smell quite how he expected it to, but it was pleasant enough.

Jongin watched him carefully and gently reached over to pull him back and close the window. “The sound of the wind going through the window sometimes spooks the horses, so it’s advised that we keep them shut.” His hand remained encircled around Kyungsoo’s wrist slightly longer than it should have and Kyungsoo noticed the struggle in Jongin’s eyes as he forced himself to pull away from Kyungsoo. This caused Kyungsoo’s stomach to flip and he licked his lips nervously and tried to break Jongin’s gaze as it now focused on his lips.

 “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” He laughed anxiously, “This is my first time in a carriage actually.”

“Really?” It was Jongin’s turn to be surprised. “Why is that?”

“I never really go far from my house, so I never need to use one.” He smiled, “I’ve always wanted to though.”

Jongin grinned, “Well then I’m honored to share this experience with you.”

Kyungsoo smiled again. He was glad that he and Jongin had relaxed enough to carry a somewhat normal conversation. He was not too fond of the small talk they usually shared in the mornings nor was he fond of the sharp remarks Jongin made to him when he was in one of his ‘moods’. Although he was embarrassed to admit it tom himself, he did like the overtly forward moments he had with Jongin more than he should have allowed himself to and a small part of him felt guilty every time his heart sped up because of his touch or the way his stomach flipped when Jongin caught his gaze. He pushed the guilt out of his mind and focused on being happy for the time being however.

They finally arrived at their destination and Kyungsoo was awestruck when he stepped out of the carriage. He was standing in front of a beautiful gothic-architecture building made of a luminous purple stone. The towers went on forever into the night sky and it resembled a cathedral. The windows were high paned and the glass was thick as if it had been built a century ago. There were tiny pinpricks of light behind the windows and Kyungsoo supposed they belonged to the inhabitants. He turned to Jongin, “You brought me to a church?”

“No, not a church,” He gestured grandly towards the castle like apparatus, “Welcome to my home. This was where I was going each morning before dawn.”

Kyungsoo gawked at Jongin, “You live here?”

Jongin nodded.

“Then why would you ask to stay with me when you have such a beautiful place to live in.”

“I live here with nine other people and sometimes they can be a pain.” He shrugged. “If you don’t want me staying with you, just tell me and I’ll leave.” There was something about his tone that said otherwise and Kyungsoo noticed the twinge of apprehension as he awaited his answer.

“Oh, you can stay!” Kyungsoo gesticulated wildly, “I didn’t mean it like that, I was just saying that my house does not even compare to this…castle.”

Jongin smiled, clearly relieved, and grabbed Kyungsoo’s hand. “We’re not going inside because what I want to show you is in the back. It’s a bit of a walk so if you have trouble just let me know and I’ll carry you or something.”

Kyungsoo regarded Jongin curiously, just a few hours earlier he had snapped at him and now he was acting as though they were close friends, as happy as that made him, it made him uneasy as well. He felt as though there was some type of motive behind this but he could not quite put his finger on it.

 

~*~

 

Jongin inwardly groaned he wasn’t sure how long he could keep up the act of disinterest as he walked along with Kyungsoo. He was aware of the fact that the EXO clan was watching them from the shadows and he was trying his hardest not to show any fond feelings towards Kyungsoo in the slightest. He let go of Kyungsoo’s hand abruptly and held out his arm politely and stiffly. He forced his expression to one of indifference and spoke loud enough so that he could let the rest of the EXO clan know he knew they were watching him. He tugged his hat lower and looked at Kyungsoo with as much softness he could manage in his gaze, but he was too busy gaping at the castle to even notice that Jongin was looking at him.

Jongin sighed and put his guard back up and explained to Kyungsoo that everyone who lived in the castle was orphaned. Kyungsoo shot him a concerned look and Jongin suppressed a smile. He knew he was getting in too deep with him but he could not help himself. Something about Kyungsoo just woke up a more primal instinct within him. He had never felt more alive since being turned. He loved the look on Kyungsoo’s face when he touched him. It was a mixture of want, need, and fear, a dangerous mixture to Jongin who had to use every ounce of his control to pull back. His feelings for him were quite sudden and this frightened Jongin more than anything because he knew that if Kyungsoo crossed the wrong line he was going to end up dead, and lately the thought of Kyungsoo’s death depressed Jongin.

He knew the clan was wondering why he was bringing Kyungsoo to their headquarters, and truthfully Jongin was not quite sure why he brought him either. He figured he just wanted to share his secret place with him, but another part of him wanted Kyungsoo to figure out that he was a vampire and ask him to turn him. It was risky, but he felt as though it was worth it. If it came down to it, he knew he would defend Kyungsoo, but he could not shake the feeling that somehow Kyungsoo would not approve of that.

Once he felt the presence of the EXO clan fade, he slipped his hand into Kyungsoo’s and squeezed it gently. Kyungsoo looked up at him and smiled and Jongin returned the smile. He noticed that Kyungsoo would gaze at the trees as if he was waiting for someone to appear and he felt a pang of jealousy. ‘ _Who could he be looking for out here?_ ’ Jongin thought.

Kyungsoo pulled his hand from Jongin’s suddenly, “I – I can’t.”

Jongin turned to face Kyungsoo, confused, “Can’t what?”

“Why are you being nice to me?”

“Would you rather I act rude and cold?” Jongin sighed; he knew he could not blame Kyungsoo for feeling confused about his sudden change of heart, he himself, was still not quite sure what caused it.

“No,” Kyungsoo stared back into the trees, “but it’s like you’re a different person, someone familiar, and it confuses me.”

“I can go back to being how I was before if you want.” Jongin stared at the ground.

Kyungsoo grabbed his hands and looked into his eyes, “No. Don’t do that. I just need time to get used to it I guess.”

Jongin smiled the first real smile in a long time, no bitterness nor sadness behind it, just genuine joy. “I’m not as bad as I’ve made myself out to be, trust me.”

Kyungsoo nodded and glanced back towards the trees again, “I have a weird feeling of being watched.”

Jongin froze; he could feel the clan watching them again. They must have seen the entire exchange. He pushed his senses to their limits and strained to hear their whispers from the trees. They were distorted by the breeze and Jongin was suddenly enraged by them eavesdropping. “Stay here.”

Kyungsoo watched him as he stomped his way into the thicket of trees. Jongin looked up and saw Chen sitting on a branch pretending to be asleep.

“I know you’re not asleep.” Jongin hissed.

Chen opened one eye and snickered. “I know.”

“Where is everyone else?” Jongin scanned the rest of the branches but could not find anyone else.

“I don’t know.” Chen shrugged and jumped down. He clapped a hand on Jongin’s shoulder, “You shouldn’t toy with food like that.”

“Who says I’m toying with him?”

“Everyone.” Chen smiled. “Funny how you ignored the food part.” He walked back to the castle and casually waved at Kyungsoo, who awkwardly waved back as he stood by himself waiting for Jongin to return.

Jongin glared at Chen and kicked the tree trunk so hard it shook. He knew he told Suho that he would not get emotionally invested but he already went too far. He pinched the bridge of his nose and stomped out of the trees. His anger dissipated once he laid eyes on Kyungsoo and he found himself not caring what the clan thought of him now.

“Who was that earlier?”

“That was Chen.” Jongin sighed.

Kyungsoo glanced back at the thick window panes and watched as the lights flickered out. He turned back to Jongin and grinned, “He seemed nice.”

Jongin looked at Kyungsoo dubiously and shook his head, “Come on I want to show you this place before we have to leave.”

Kyungsoo obliged and let Jongin lead him. They walked in silence but it was a mutual one, neither wanted to break it because it felt natural. They walked for about twenty minutes until Jongin brought Kyungsoo to a small pond with various fish swimming in it. They all glowed in the moonlight and seemed to know that Jongin was there to feed them. Jongin reached into his coat and broke off pieces of bread to toss into the small pond. Kyungsoo watched him with a sad smile that morphed into a pleased grin.

“So this is where you disappear to?” Kyungsoo asked as he ripped off a piece of bread and threw it into the pond.

Jongin blushed, “Yeah. I usually come here to think and I figured not too long ago to fill the pond with some type of creature so I had someone to talk to.”

Kyungsoo touched Jongin’s arm, “You could always talk to me.”

“You have enough problems, and you don’t need mine on top of that.”

“Nonsense!” He pulled Jongin down to the ground next to him and nudged him with his shoulder. “Everyone needs someone or something to talk to.”

“Exactly,” He nodded. “I have my fish.”

Kyungsoo laughed.

“What?” Jongin pushed his shoulder. “Just because they can’t talk back doesn’t mean they’re not listening.”

Kyungsoo laughed even harder, clapping his face with his hands.

Jongin was getting agitated, “Stop laughing.”

Kyungsoo giggled, “Sorry, but I just imagined you coming out here with some bread pouring all your deepest secrets out on these fish while all they care about is eating.” He flopped back onto the ground and giggled a little more.

Jongin glared at him and then followed suit, sighing. Their faces were extremely close and Jongin could feel Kyungsoo’s breath on him. He bit his lip and then let out a shaky breath and inched closer to Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo froze, only his eyes moved as they looked back and forth between Jongin’s lips and his eyes. Jongin recognized the desire in Kyungsoo’s eyes and lightly brushed his lips against Kyungsoo’s who shuddered but did not move back. Jongin finally gave in and the next thing he knew, his lips were gently pressed against Kyungsoo’s. He felt him shiver and propped himself up on one elbow to have a better angle and his other hand gripped Kyungsoo’s waist. He let a small moan escape as he deepened the kiss and Kyungsoo pressed himself against Jongin.

Jongin teased Kyungsoo by lightly nipping at his bottom lip and Kyungsoo gripped Jongin’s hair a little tighter as he squirmed beneath him. Jongin could hear the voices in his head telling him to just bite Kyungsoo and get it over with but he held back as much as he could. He bit Kyungsoo’s bottom lip again and slid his hand lower lightly fingering the waist band of Kyungsoo’s trousers. Kyungsoo groaned and arched his back, accidently causing Jongin to bite a little too hard on his lip. The explosion of Kyungsoo’s sweet blood filled Jongin’s mouth and he swiped his tongue over the cut a few times, the anti-coagulant in his saliva keeping the blood flowing in full force, and sucked lightly while he unbuttoned Kyungsoo’s coat. White light exploded behind his eyelids and he pressed Kyungsoo harder against him. Kyungsoo tried to pull away but Jongin was still latched to his lip. He pushed lightly against Jongin and much to his own surprise Jongin pulled back. He stared at Kyungsoo in the eyes and waited for him to say something, but he just smiled at him stupidly.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to bite you that hard.” Jongin rolled off of Kyungsoo and forced himself to stare at the pond. He knew that he wanted to watch the pink flush that crept up Kyungsoo’s slightly exposed chest to his cheeks fade away. The flush that he caused with his lips, but if he did he knew he would not be able to control himself again.

Kyungsoo pushed himself up to a sitting position and tried to button his coat back. “No it’s okay.” He sounded breathless and giddy.

Jongin peeked at Kyungsoo and barely contained his gasp. Kyungsoo’s cheeks were still flushed and his lips had a swollen look to them, his eyes were shining brightly and actually looked happy. “Are you happy?” Jongin asked surprised.

“I think that’s what you call this emotion.” Kyungsoo laughed. “I haven’t felt this way for such a long time I had forgotten how great it felt.” He beamed at Jongin.

“I – wow…I did that.” Jongin muttered to himself, but Kyungsoo still heard him.

Kyungsoo smiled, the small cut opened again and Jongin nearly tackled him to the ground. ‘ _Just one more small taste and I’m done for good._ ’ Jongin thought as he pinned Kyungsoo beneath him. They spent the next few hours by that pond, not caring if anyone saw them or not.

The coachman arrived a few minutes early and Jongin and Kyungsoo scrambled to pull themselves together. He only raised an eyebrow at their ruffled appearances and opened the door for them to get in the carriage. “No funny business in there, or you’re cleaning it up.” Jongin glared at the man indignantly while Kyungsoo blushed profusely.

Kyungsoo waited until they began moving to talk, "It’s not that obvious is it?”

Jongin stifled a laugh, “Your shirt is on backwards.”

Kyungsoo eyes grew even larger, which Jongin had not thought was possible; as he glanced down to find his shirt was indeed on backwards. "It is!” He shrugged out of his coat and quickly pulled his shirt off to fix it. Jongin watched him hungrily but kept his distance reluctantly.

They arrived at Kyungsoo’s right before the sun began to rise and Jongin anxiously ran inside. He did not like the feeling he got when he stood a chance of being fried. It left him jittery and nauseous. He quickly hung his coat and headed towards his room. Kyungsoo lingered behind and Jongin turned to kiss his forehead. “Goodnight.”

“We just slept, how are you tired?” Kyungsoo asked as he headed towards the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast.

“I don’t think we have the same definition of sleep.” Jongin chuckled and padded to his room where he dove onto his bed. He shimmed under the sheets and grinned. He felt free for the first time in a long time and he liked that feeling. Although he could not shake that tiny feeling of foreboding that settled in his gut.

 

~*~

 

 


	5. Divenire

Kyungsoo braced himself against the sink as another course of shivers ran down his spine. He could not stop thinking about earlier. Lips leaving soft butterfly kisses down his torso, hands that gripped slightly too hard around his waist and bites that were almost too rough and Kyungsoo vaguely remembered seeing little pinpricks of blood to well up which Jongin had swiped his tongue over before gently sucking on each bite mark. If Kyungsoo had not been so caught up in the sensations he would have paid more attention to the fact that Jongin was biting him on purpose, but all he could really focus on was the feeling of his body against his own. It had felt so familiar and yet so foreign at the same time. A pang of guilt coursed through him as he thought of a very similar night with Kai. He scrubbed the pot viciously to force himself to focus on something other the feeling of Jongin’s feathery touch and stared out the window at the sunrise.

It was going to be a beautiful day and Kyungsoo figured he’d spend the day out back working in the garden to help gather his thoughts. Was what he was doing considered cheating? Kyungsoo shook his head; of course it wasn’t since Jongin was Kai. Right? He stared at the soapy water in the sink and at his raw pink hands. The soap was not gentle on his skin, but the dishes were not going to clean themselves and since Jongin was still asleep, he figured he take care of them for him.

He tiptoed to Jongin’s room to check on him and smiled to himself. Jongin was completely knocked out, his chest rising and falling with every breath, lips pulled into a slight smile. “Kyung…” he mumbled and Kyungsoo felt his heartbeat flutter. He was dreaming about him! Jongin rolled over to face the wall, his legs squeezing one of his pillows between his knees as he tensed slightly. Kyungsoo closed the door, suddenly feeling as though he were intruding and hobbled to his room.

He sat on his bed and stared at the mirror on his wall. His eyes grew large as he noticed the glow he had about him and he blushed again. He stepped closer to the mirror to investigate the small bruise developing on his arm where Jongin had gripped him too hard and frowned. Two tiny wounds on his shoulder caught his eye and he slid his shirt down to get a closer look at it. They were light pink as if they had already healed but they were a strange distance apart. The perfect distance for canine teeth, but no human canine teeth were that long to only leave a mark from them. Kyungsoo’s frown deepened and his eyes traveled down the reflection of his back where more of the tiny bite marks were fading away. He pulled his trousers down slightly and noticed a few more traveling from his hips to his thighs. Maybe he was bitten by an insect. They were outside on the grass after all but the distance between all of them was the same.

Kyungsoo pulled his shirt back over his shoulder and shook the feeling of unease off him. They were most likely insect bites. ‘ _Perhaps Jongin had been bitten as well_ ,’ he thought. Suddenly feeling quite tired he yawned and climbed into his bed, the garden could wait a few hours.

 

~*~

 

Jongin awoke with a start and found himself staring into the eyes of Suho. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, “What do you want?”

“Why did you bring him there?”

“Bring who?” Jongin yawned and stared at Suho with blurry eyes.

“There are other places you can take toys to do such things.” He admonished him. “I am not particularly fond of looking out my window and seeing that.”

Jongin scratched his head, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Suho squinted his eyes at Jongin. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Take your pet elsewhere or at least have the common decency to be indoors.”

Jongin grinned lazily, “Oh, _that_. Well it’s not like I planned for it to happen. And you know I couldn’t bring him inside. The others would have snatched him from under my fingers. With blood like his, he wasn’t safe there at all.”

“Then why did you bring him there? To show off the control you have over him? Because to me it looked like you could barely control yourself. If he has any recollection of being bitten that many times, I will not only kill him, but you as well.”

“I wanted to show him the pond.” Then Jongin jerked back, “Wait, me?”

Suho laughed harshly, “Some show you were giving him.” He rolled his eyes, “Yes, you. You are putting us all in danger the closer you get to him. For all we know he could be using you to get to the rest of the clan.”

Jongin shook his head. “He wouldn’t do that.”

“Are you implying that you know how he thinks?” Suho raised an eyebrow. “You know how humans are. Sooner or later he’s going to discover your secret and he will not be happy.”

“You don’t know that.” Jongin dared to raise his voice above the hushed whisper they were using. “You don’t know him like I do.”

Suho shook his head. “Listen to you. You’re talking like a smitten little girl.”

Jongin opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out.

“Can’t deny it can you? That pathetic little creature has you wrapped around his finger doesn’t he?”

“No. I’m the one in control! I’m only pretending to have feelings for him so he won’t suspect me when he figures it all out.” Jongin bluffed. He knew that he was quickly losing control of the situation to his newly awakened emotions. He knew he could barely control his urges and desires towards Kyungsoo and he definitely knew he was not faking it in the slightest.

Suho sniffed, “Just remember that when I give my order you _will_ kill him. Whether he discovers us or not. If he becomes any more of a threat, he has to go.”

Jongin gulped and nodded. “As you command, Leader.”

“If you don’t.  You both will go and that will be quite tragic won’t it?”

Jongin nodded again, “What if I decide to turn him?”

“He won’t want you to.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.” Suho stood up, “And he won’t want to be changed, trust me.”

“Why?” Jongin felt a small seed of fear begin to germinate in his gut. He knew he would not like whatever answer Suho gave him, but he wanted to hear it nonetheless.

Suho just smiled at him and faded into the shadows. He possessed powers that none of the others had since he was so much older than them. Jongin was only about five centuries old and was still considered an infant among the EXO clan, so he knew he had a long time before he was able to do even half of the stuff Suho could.

Jongin slumped against the wall, his good mood completely ruined. He tried to devise a plan to somehow bring up the existence of his kind but could not think of anything. He ended up settling with bringing up the news of another body being found and hoped that his prying would force Kyungsoo to give his thoughts on the whole matter and therefore give him an answer as to whether or not he could convince him to be changed.

He opened Kyungsoo’s door slowly and peeked in. He was curled in fetal position hugging a pillow against him. Jongin gently pulled the pillow from Kyungsoo’s grip and wrapped his arms around himself and waited for Kyungsoo to wake up.

An hour or so later, Kyungsoo wrapped his legs around Jongin’s waist and snuggled against his chest and Jongin gently ran his fingers through Kyungsoo’s hair. Kyungsoo slowly opened his eyes and froze.

“Good morning sleeping beauty.” Jongin chuckled.

“How?” Kyungsoo balked.

“I wanted to surprise you, so I snuck in here after you fell asleep and waited for you to wake up.” He smiled a cheeky grin and gave Kyungsoo a little peck on his nose.

Kyungsoo suddenly realized the compromising position he was in and turned bright red as he unwrapped his legs from around Jongin. “Sorry.”

Jongin shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

Kyungsoo rubbed his eyes and yawned, “I didn’t think I’d be so exhausted.”

Jongin stared at Kyungsoo and bit his lip. “I have a confession to make.”

Kyungsoo sat up and stretched, making a soft whining sound as he did so. “I’m sore, what about you?”

Jongin sat up, “A little, but did you hear me? I said that I have something I need to tell you.”

Kyungsoo hobbled to his closet and pulled off his pajamas, “I heard you,” He paused as he looked for a light colored undershirt to put on to work in the garden, “If it’s about what happened at the pond, save it. If I did not want it to happen, I would have stopped you.”

Jongin’s forehead wrinkled, “No, it’s not about the pond. It’s about me…and you…well mostly me.”

Kyungsoo found the shirt he was looking for and as he reached to grab it, the box with the scrapbook in it tottered and fell. He cursed under his breath and rubbed his head. Jongin was by his side in a second and pushed back Kyungsoo’s hair to look at the small red mark forming on his forehead. Kyungsoo smiled, “I’m fine, it’s just a bump, and it will go away in a few hours.”

“If you say so,” Jongin suddenly grinned, “But you know I could kiss it and make it better faster.”

Kyungsoo shook his head and knelt down to pick up the box. Jongin stared at him and reached out for the box, “Let me put it back, I’m taller so I’ll be able to reach it better.”

Kyungsoo looked up at Jongin frightened and held the box against his bare chest, “No, I got it.”

Jongin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “I already know what’s inside of it.”

Kyungsoo almost dropped the box and stared at Jongin in disbelief. “You’ve been through my stuff?”

Jongin put his hands up in surrender, “I didn’t mean to. You were gone and I was bored and I wanted to know more about you so I went into your room to look around but the box caught my attention and I – couldn’t help myself. I’m sorry.”

Kyungsoo looked as if he was going to explode and then deflated. Jongin hesitantly put his hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, “If it helps, I think you’re an amazing artist.”

“How much did you see?” He stared at the ground and shrugged off Jongin’s hand.

“I only saw the first few pages; I stopped after seeing a sketch of a boy in the forest.” He gingerly touched Kyungsoo’s chin and turned him to face him. “I did not know it would be so personal. I had heard the stories of the notorious sketchbook and the fact that you wouldn’t let anyone touch it when you came back from the New World and I was curious.”

“You look just like him you know that?” Kyungsoo pulled away and sat on his bed, hugging himself as he shivered.

Jongin pulled the sheets around him and nodded. “I know.”

“Then why did you stay?” Kyungsoo looked up at him, his eyes full of tears.

“I – I don’t know.” Jongin shook his head. “I wanted to leave right after I discovered it but then you told me what happened and I couldn’t leave you by yourself and I –”

“You took pity on me?” Kyungsoo whispered.

“No.” Jongin laced his fingers between Kyungsoo’s, “I saw someone I could relate to. Someone who was just as broken as I am and I was afraid that if I left I would never share that with someone again.”

Kyungsoo stared at him. “Why would you want to be with someone who is beyond repair?”

“Because I saw flashes of hope in you. Flashes of something. You reminded me how it was to feel human –” Jongin stopped. He had said too much, he searched Kyungsoo’s face for any recognition, but his face was frozen in an expression of sadness. “You’re not beyond repair. Last night is proof of that. You actually were happy.”

Kyungsoo half smiled at Jongin and hugged the box tighter. “Do you want to know the full story?”

Jongin nodded and put his arm around Kyungsoo as he carefully opened the cover. “His name is – was Kai. He was my first love.” He trailed off and Jongin watched him uncertainly as he shook slightly. Kyungsoo showed him every drawing he had made of him and explained the moments he had forever captured in time. He even went as far as reading some of his diary entries to Jongin but had to stop after a while because his vision had become clouded with tears. Jongin wiped each one away gently and listened patiently. He was finally getting what he wanted but it left him feeling more empty than before. He was not quite sure how he felt about being a replacement of sorts. When Kyungsoo told him about how Kai had promised he would meet him after he had been reincarnated, Jongin’s hope dissipated.

“Then out of nowhere you showed up and I could not believe my eyes. You look so much like him I could not let you leave. I wanted so badly just to touch you just to make sure you were real but you were so cold towards me. I did not know how to handle that and –” He smiled brightly at Jongin. “And then you suddenly changed and now I know it’s really you and I can finally be happy again.”

Jongin turned to hide the frown that formed on his face. He could not tell Kyungsoo that he was a vampire now. Not when he believed he was the love of his life. He did not have the heart to crush his hopes and that made him feel even worse. Here he was falling for this broken man for who he was and all he got in return was a love that was meant for someone else. Suddenly he hated Kai for causing Kyungsoo so much pain by dying. He resolved that eventually, once Kyungsoo was completely happy he would reveal his true nature and then make him an offer he could not possibly refuse. He would make it so that Kyungsoo never had to fear losing him because they would live forever with each other. He would not have to go through the pain of losing another loved one. Jongin felt a lump form in his throat, “Yep that’s me.” He smiled crookedly and squeezed Kyungsoo’s hand.

Kyungsoo smiled back and wiped his eyes, “So what was this confession you wanted to tell me?”

Jongin froze and tried to come up with something, suddenly he remembered the messages at the back of the sketchbook. “Oh, I came across some special writing in the back of the sketchbook and well I can’t read what it says and I was wondering if you’d translate it, you know to help me remember?”

Kyungsoo tilted his head and regarded Jongin curiously. “What are you talking about?”

Jongin reached for the sketchbook, “May I?” Kyungsoo nodded and Jongin flipped to the very last page which had a short message written in pictographs.

Kyungsoo began to tremble, “How did I not know about this?”

Jongin shrugged and pointed to the first message. “What does it say?”

"It says, ‘Hi, may the Goddess watch over you, this is Kai.’ Oh God…” Kyungsoo trailed off.

“What?”

He continued, “’I wanted to write things too! I hope you enjoy what I wrote.’” He turned to face Jongin slowly and bit his lip and when Jongin nodded he continued again. “’Today I saw you writing in this but when I tried to look at what you were writing you hid it from me. I can’t even read the script you use, but maybe one day you’ll find mine and we’ll laugh about it. I have been training to become the Zipa and I don’t like it. I do not want to rule this place; I want to have fun with you. I like the way your cheeks turn red. I think I’m going to try to make them do that more often.’” Kyungsoo stared at the bottom of the page where there was a small drawing of himself sitting on the window sill writing. He slowly turned the page and found another entry, this one was much shorter, only two lines. He inhaled deeply and began translating. “’I like you. I cannot tell you that because I am to take a wife when I become Zipa, but honestly I’d be happy living with you for the rest of my life.’ I can’t believe it! It’s actually him, well you, saying all of this!” Kyungsoo exclaimed.

Jongin was feeling sick to his stomach. “Yeah.”

Kyungsoo looked over at Jongin. “What’s wrong?”

“Can we not talk about him – err me?” He hated knowing that every look he received from Kyungsoo would be meant for Kai. He hated this feeling he had. As though he had somehow lost a part of himself in a matter of seconds.

Kyungsoo smiled, “Of course.” He nudged Jongin, “You may be his reincarnation, but I know it must be annoying to hear me babble about him since you’re here now. Although I’m really talking about you, he is a different guy I suppose.”

Jongin breathed a small sigh of relief and got up to leave. “I need to be alone for a bit.”

Kyungsoo wrapped his arms around Jongin and kissed his cheek. “You know where I am if you need me.”

Jongin half smiled and sulked out of the room. He collapsed on his bed and let the emptiness wash over him. “He looked so happy. How am I supposed to do this? What if he brings up Kai again? I can’t pretend to be him.” He whispered as he hugged his knees to his chest. He had finally found someone that made him feel alive and now he suddenly felt more dead than ever before. He closed his eyes and bit his lip as warm tears soaked his pillow. He knew that Kyungsoo did not know he was hurting him and a part of him felt like he deserved it so he settled with the idea that eventually Kyungsoo would forget about Kai and focus on him instead. He felt himself drifting off to sleep and his last thought was: ‘ _Is this what love is?_ ’

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo eagerly read every entry that Kai had left him, caught between wanting to cry and laugh at the same time. It was not until he came across the last entry that he broke down. It read:

_My Love,_

_I am dying. I know it will be hard for you when I’m gone, but promise me you will give love another chance. If we ever meet again, it will be in another lifetime so for the remainder of this one, give someone else the love you gave me. I don’t want you to hold on to the past, you must let go and move on. I’m sure there is someone else more deserving than myself that you will encounter and I don’t want to be the reason you let them pass you by. Please, for my sake and your own, give them all of you. Don’t hold one thing back; show them everything you have to offer. If they’re anything like me, they will do the same. May the Goddess watch over you._

_Kai._

Kyungsoo closed the sketchbook and held on to the entry he had in his hand. It was as if Kai foresaw everything that would happen and tried to warn him, but after he died, Kyungsoo did not have the strength to even touch the sketchbook. He thought back to the look of pain on Jongin’s face when Kyungsoo lit up at the prospect of reading something from Kai. How could he have been so insensitive? Jongin had fallen for him without the knowledge that he was a reincarnation, and to hear from the person you cared for about how much he loved someone else, must have really hurt him. It would hurt anyone to hear such things. It explained the deflated expression he had as he left his room. It explained why he asked Kyungsoo not to mention Kai. Not only because it hurt to hear it but because he knew the pain that Kyungsoo suffered because of his death.

 Kyungsoo sighed and put the sketchbook back in the box and shoved it under his bed. From this day on he would try his best not to bring him up. Just because he remembered the past, does not mean he needed to force Jongin to live in it. He stood to his feet and shuffled to Jongin’s room and peeked inside. Jongin was crying and he looked up at Kyungsoo in surprise and wiped his eyes.

“Sorry.”

Kyungsoo limped over to Jongin and hugged him tightly. “I don’t know how it happened or why it happened. But somehow I fooled you into loving me.” He buried his face into his neck, “I promise I’ll return the favor. It may take me while to fully get over Kai, even if you’re his reincarnation, but I know that it’s unfair to compare you two. I may never completely get over him, but I know now that I have someone to look forward to when I wake up. I have someone to laugh with and cook for and eventually love with all my heart.” He pulled back slightly so he could make eye contact with Jongin. “Please be patient with me, I don’t know how long it will take.”

Jongin kissed Kyungsoo, tasting the salt of both their tears, and breathed against his lips. “I don’t know how it happened either, but I promise I’ll do my best not to let you down.”

Kyungsoo smiled and wiped Jongin’s tears away. “You couldn’t possibly do such a thing.”

Jongin grinned and pulled Kyungsoo down on top of him and kissed him for all that he was worth. He may not have a beating heart to speed up, but he listened to Kyungsoo’s and pretended it was his own. He rolled over so that he was hovering over Kyungsoo and caressed his face with the back of his hand. “I hope so.”

Kyungsoo gently touched Jongin’s cheek and rubbed his nose against his. “I know so.”

For the first time in their lives, both Kyungsoo and Jongin, felt at peace. They did nothing more than kiss and lay in each other’s arms for the rest of that night. The urgency to ravaged one another was saved for a later day and they simply enjoyed being in each other’s presence. They talked about their favorite foods, well Kyungsoo did, and Jongin remained tight lipped on the subject, their favorite seasons and other various things while they were in utter bliss. Both felt as if they were experiencing a new beginning, the word _Divenire_ came to Jongin’s mind and he smiled as he watched Kyungsoo sleep in his arms.

If only they knew they were on borrowed time.

 

~*~

 

 

About two months later, Kyungsoo finally got another lead in his investigation. He wrote a note to Jongin informing him that he would be gone for the majority of the day and kissed his forehead before he left. They had moved into the master bedroom shortly after their confessions and hardly left each other’s sight for more than an hour or two.

Kyungsoo grabbed his coat and hat. He glanced at the walking stick and remembered that his leg had been doing better lately. His limp was hardly noticeable by now, and he felt the faintest twinge of pain only when he stood up too quickly.

Outside it was gloomy, the sun was completely overshadowed by the clouds and the breeze was bitterly cold. Kyungsoo pulled his coat tighter around him and walked towards the other side of town. There were reports of at least six bodies found on the outskirts and someone had actually witnessed three of the kills. A part of him already missed Jongin but the rest of him was brimming with excitement and curiosity. This was the lead he had been looking for since he first arrived here six months earlier, an actual eyewitness!

He pulled his hat down farther and buried his gloved hands in his pockets. People milled about outside of the food stands but everyone else was hiding inside their homes because it was nearly dark as night outside even though it was only noon. The wind bit at his cheeks and made his nose feel numb and Kyungsoo pulled up the scarf he had wrapped around his neck.

Kyungsoo remembered that Jongin’s favorite season was winter and wondered if he should suggest they go for a walk. They had been indoors all week and despite the fact that Jongin was keeping him entertained until the sun rose each morning, he found he missed the warmth its rays provided. He often wondered about Jongin’s extreme aversion to the sun but dismissed it since he had been told that he just burns very easily. However since the sun was nearly nonexistent today, he hoped that Jongin would at least think about going for an evening stroll. Kyungsoo knew he would not be too fond of it since it dropped below freezing at night, but compromise was part of being in a relationship, so he would not mind it too much, and if he did he would put on his best face and pretend he was fine.

Kyungsoo rounded a corner and felt a cold chill go down his spine. It wasn’t from the temperature outside. He sensed something very wrong as he neared the eyewitness’ house. He hesitantly turned around and found himself face to face with a very pale red haired man. “May I help you sir?”

The man blinked and smiled slowly, “Yes. I’m looking for a man named Do Kyungsoo.”

“What for?” Kyungsoo refrained from telling the man that he was the guy he was looking for.

“I have a message for him.” The red haired man stepped closer towards Kyungsoo and whispered in his ear. “I’d watch my back if I were you. You’re diving into some dangerous secrets.”

Kyungsoo felt his heart stop momentarily as the words sunk in.

_Secrets._

 The word echoed in his mind. He was on the right track! He wanted to do a victory dance but he could not help but feel apprehensive. Something about that red haired man unnerved him. He felt as though he was not given a warning, but a death sentence.

Kyungsoo stared at the house of the eyewitness and then checked to see if anyone was following him before he approached the door. He raised his hand to knock, but the door opened of its own accord. Kyungsoo carefully stepped over the threshold and scanned the room. There was blood splattered on the walls and ceilings. It spelled out words on the southward wall.

_The dead can’t speak._

Kyungsoo involuntarily shivered and tried to find the body of the victim. He nearly passed out when he finally caught sight of the body. It was horribly disfigured and one of the toes twitched. Kyungsoo knelt down by the man. “Can you hear me?”

The man’s chest rose and fell and his toe twitched again. Kyungsoo took that as a yes and asked one final question before he alerted the police. “Who did this to you?”

The man rasped and gurgled for a few seconds and then spluttered, “R – red.” His body went still and Kyungsoo swallowed. He thought back to the red haired man and shivered again. He had the strongest urge to return home to make sure that Jongin was okay. He did not care if they went for a walk or not, all he wanted now was the security of Jongin’s arms and the warmth of his house. He quickly exited the house and walked as fast as he could to the nearest coach. He told the coachman his address and tried to forget everything he had just witnessed.

 

~*~

 

Jongin rolled over and reached out for Kyungsoo but found his half of the bed empty. He figured he was making breakfast so he stood and stretched, still half asleep.

“I see you’ve made yourself quite comfortable here.”

Jongin jumped and quickly grabbed the comforter on the bed to wrap around his waist.

“Don’t worry it’s nothing I haven’t seen before, Jongin.”

Jongin glared at Suho. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come here to warn you.” He stepped towards Jongin, “Keep your pet on a leash or I will kill him before next week.”

“What are you talking about? Kyungsoo has not even been searching lately. I’ve been making sure of that.”

“Clearly you’re not doing a good enough job.” Suho picked up a glass paper weight and tossed it in the air a few times before placing it back.

“How would you know?” Jongin challenged.

“You’re getting soft Jongin. You’re letting your emotions blind you.” He sat on the edge of the bed and brushed nonexistent dust off his boot.

“You’re just jealous because I finally found someone who accepts me.”

Suho scoffed. “Does he know you’re a vampire?” He raised an eyebrow. “Thought so.”

“He’ll know soon enough, and then I’ll change him.”

“I already told you he’s not going to let you do that.” Suho scanned the room and wrinkled his nose in distaste.

Jongin felt anger well up inside him. “You never told me why. So your argument is invalid.”

Suho shrugged. “I gave him a personal warning earlier today. If he does not step down from his investigation by next week, I’m ordering you to kill him.”

“Not if I change him first.”

Suho rolled his eyes. “Good luck with that.”

Jongin glared at him. “Get out.”

Suho suddenly pinned Jongin against the wall. “Don’t forget the order of things, Kim Jongin. I am still your maker. I can kill you just as easily as I made you, remember that.” He stepped back and faded into the shadows and disappeared.

Jongin rubbed his neck and dug his nails into the palms of his hands. He had to question Kyungsoo tonight and convince him to stop or else he’d lose him. As if on cue, Kyungsoo burst through the door and tackled Jongin onto the bed, lips finding his and gloved hands twining Jongin’s hair. Jongin gently pushed Kyungsoo back and laughed, “Nice to see you too.”

Kyungsoo shook his head and kissed Jongin again until he was light-headed. He pulled back his eyes half shut. “Sorry. I had to make sure you were okay.”

Jongin shifted beneath him, “I’m more than okay, now that you’re here.”

Kyungsoo smiled and rolled off of Jongin and began unlacing his boots and pulling off his gloves. “Why aren’t you dressed?”

“I just woke up.” Jongin smiled. “Where did you go?”

Kyungsoo shrugged off his coat and pulled his shirt off over his head. “I’ll tell you later.” He straddled Jongin leaned down to kiss him again.

“Hey, slow down.” Jongin grabbed Kyungsoo’s hands before he could finish unbuttoning his pants. “Tell me where you went and what happened.”

Kyungsoo pulled his wrists out of Jongin’s grip and slipped out of his pants, his hands trembling “Let me just – okay.”

Jongin eyes languidly travelled down Kyungsoo’s bare body, hungrily drinking it in, before he cleared his throat. “Right. Tell me.”

Kyungsoo relayed all that he had seen and encountered earlier. “That’s why I had to make sure you were okay.” He swallowed nervously. “I was afraid for you.”

Jongin threw his head back and laughed. “I can handle myself just fine.” He grabbed Kyungsoo’s hand and rubbed his thumb over the back of it. “I’m just relieved you are okay.”

“Yeah I’m fine. Sort of.” He trailed his fingers down Jongin’s chest and smiled when Jongin’s breath hitched.

“No you’re clearly in shock.”

“No I’m not.” Kyungsoo’s hand slipped beneath the sheet and Jongin gasped.

“Then why are you being like this?” Jongin groaned. “Not that I mind it, but it’s so sudden.”

“I just want to make sure you’re real.” Kyungsoo whispered.

Jongin stopped squirming and turned to look at Kyungsoo. “Real?”

“Sometimes I can’t tell if I’m dreaming.”

“Well you’re not dreaming.” Jongin cupped Kyungsoo’s face and kissed him gently before rolling off the bed.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Kyungsoo sat up the sheet sliding down to expose his shoulder. “I’m not finished with you.”

Jongin smirked at him, “Let’s go for a walk.”

“You hate the daytime.” Kyungsoo retorted and crossed his arms. “Come back to bed.”

Jongin chuckled, “Later, I promise.”

Kyungsoo sighed and pulled his clothes back on. “Fine. But you better not be lying to me.”

In a few moments they were standing outside, Jongin in a thin coat while Kyungsoo had on both his and Jongin’s thick winter coats. They walked hand in hand towards a small park in the late evening breeze. Kyungsoo shivered and his breath created little puffs when he spoke. “I hate the cold.”

Jongin glanced over at him. “I thought you said you didn’t mind it.”

“I only said that so I wouldn’t hurt your feelings.” He grumbled and plopped on the ground.

Jongin sat down next to him to watch as the sun set behind the thick clouds. “Here let me warm you up.” He kissed him deeply. “Better?”

Kyungsoo nodded and laid his head on Jongin’s shoulder as the light faded even more.

“So,” Jongin began. “Are you going to stop whatever it is you're trying to do?”

“Why should I?” Kyungsoo shrugged. “I’m so close. Besides it’s not like that man will do to me what he did to that eyewitness.”

‘ _He’ll do much worse. He’ll have me do it._ ’ Jongin thought. “You should at least lay low for a while.”

Kyungsoo looked up at him. “But I’m so close to proving it. All I need now is someone else to verify it with me and then I’m done. It’s not like I’m trying to capture one and hand him over to specialists or something. I just want the credit of discovering another humanoid species.”

Jongin sighed. “Please just stop. For me?”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “I can’t. I’m doing this for myself.”

“Then why does everyone need to know?”

“Because that’s the only way it’ll be documented.”

“What if you just wrote it down in a book and published it anonymously?” Jongin was feeling desperate at this point, Kyungsoo was not backing down.

“Who would believe an anonymous publisher? There has to be a respected name attached and I’m highly respected in that field so why not mine?”

“Because I don’t want you to be killed.” Jongin whispered.

“I won’t get killed.” Kyungsoo smiled.

“What makes you say that?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just feel that I will make it out unscathed. Besides if I were to go missing, then that would only solidify my findings.”

“What if I told you I believe you?” Jongin offered.

“That’s nice, but I want –”

“Am I not enough?”

“You’re more than enough.”

“Then please promise me you will stop okay?”

Kyungsoo opened his mouth to say something, but Jongin kissed him. “Please, just forget about it.”

Kyungsoo sighed, “Fine.”

Jongin had a hard time believing him but he hoped Kyungsoo would at least consider abandoning his project for at least a week or two, just so Suho would buy his story. Jongin smiled and caressed Kyungsoo’s face. “Thank you.”

They remained outside for a few more minutes before Kyungsoo complained about his toes freezing off. Once inside the house, clothes were flying and breaths were mingled. Lips traced invisible pathways and fingers dug into the sheets. Backs were arched and teeth sunk into skin. Moans escaped and eyes were squeezed shut in ecstasy. Beads of sweet dripped and they collapsed in a tangled mess of sheets and perspiring bodies.

Jongin smiled. “I promised didn’t I?”

Kyungsoo nodded, still trembling from the aftershocks. “Worth the wait.” He panted.

 

~*~

 

Outside on the other side of town, the eyewitness’ body convulsed. He sat up, eyes glowing red, fangs descended and a terribly strong thirst plagued him. He staggered out his door and sniffed the air looking for his first prey.

Suho looked up from his book, sensing the awakening of the man named Jino, and grinned.

 

~*~

 

 


	6. The Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild violence

A gentle breeze wafted through the open window. A couple of birds chirped happily and chased each other playfully from tree to tree. A ray of sunlight cut through the dark green colored curtains as they fluttered in the wind and landed on Kyungsoo’s face. Jongin opened his eyes, feeling apprehensive all of a sudden and flinched at the closeness of the beam of light. He stared at it wide eyed and slowly slid sideways out of bed, never letting his gaze leave the ray of light. He tiptoed around the foot of the bed and inched towards the window where he hesitantly reached to pull the curtains close. He hissed when he accidently leaned too far and his arm blistered where he was hit by the beam of light. He covered the wound with his hand and smiled as Kyungsoo rolled over and slowly opened his eyes.

“What are you doing?” His voice was thick with drowsiness.

Jongin pointed towards the closet, his hand still clasped over the blister, and said, “I’m going out for a bit.”

Kyungsoo nodded and yawned. “Mmm, where?”

Jongin panicked. In actuality he was trying to avoid the sun and could not figure out why he had lied. He racked his brain for another lie but was coming up blank. He was about to answer when he realized that Kyungsoo had fallen back to sleep and sighed in relief. Jongin tentatively stepped forward, his breath shallow, and pulled the blanket up over Kyungsoo’s bare shoulder. He narrowly avoided the ray of light and pulled his hand back as quickly as he could once Kyungsoo was taken care of. He had noticed the little goose pimples forming on him as the breeze picked up and did not want Kyungsoo to be cold. It was such a human reaction to temperature change that Jongin felt a pang of sadness. He no longer knew what it felt like to be cold, or warm. The thought made him frown.

 He knew he would miss these human aspects of Kyungsoo. The way his heart sped up whenever he touched him and the way his lips moved when he chewed his food. The way the sun shone on his skin and the way he smiled while he was cooking. All of these things and more, every single human characteristic of Kyungsoo that made him so imperfectly perfect to Jongin. He caressed Kyungsoo’s cheek and sighed. Although he would miss all of Kyungsoo’s humanness he looked forward to the prospect of them being together forever. If he had a heartbeat, it would flutter at the thought.

He smiled weakly and watched Kyungsoo sleep for a few seconds before there was a soft fizzling sound and Suho walked out of the shadows. Jongin’s guard went up instantly and he carefully composed his expression and tone. “If I ask you nicely will you leave?”

Suho ignored him, “There is a fledgling on the loose.”

Jongin squinted his eyes at Suho, “What does that have to do with me?”

Suho glanced over at the sleeping Kyungsoo, who sighed in his sleep, lips quirking up into a smile. “How cute.” He ran his index finger down Kyungsoo’s cheek.

Jongin bristled, a dark look on his face. “Don’t.”

Suho smiled thinly, “Calm down. I won’t hurt him…yet.”

Jongin’s eyes flashed and his muscles tensed. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Suho stared at Jongin. “I want you to train him.”

It took Jongin a second to realize Suho was talking about the fledgling again. He squared his shoulders and said resolutely. “No.”

“Watch yourself, Kim Jongin.”

“I’m not leaving him.” Jongin glanced at Kyungsoo and then back to Suho who regarded him harshly.

“You _will_ do as I say.” He gestured towards Kyungsoo and bared his teeth. “Or do I have to make you?”

Jongin clenched his fists; he was shaking with barely contained anger. He stared at Kyungsoo for a few moments and then glared at Suho, his eyes boring holes into his skull.

Suho smiled again and scoffed. “Never thought he would be useful.” He walked around the edge of the bed towards Jongin and passed through the ray of sunlight.

Jongin gasped. Suho did not burst into flames or blisters whatsoever. His alabaster skin remained flawless. He noticed Jongin’s awe and turned his hand palm up in the ray of light. Nothing happened to it. “There are a lot of things you don’t know Jongin.” The ring on his finger glittered and casted smaller rays of light about the room, Jongin flinched when one struck him, leaving a pinhead sized burn near his eye. Suho advanced towards him again, dropping his arm to his side. “Time heals all wounds.” He paused and gestured towards the sunlight. "It can also prevent them.”

“If you are so knowledgeable then why have me train the fledging?” Jongin figured he would at least try to persuade Suho to leave him and Kyungsoo alone. He knew he already was aware of the fact that Kyungsoo said he would stop his research since he was listening from the darkness that surrounded them a few nights ago.

“I don’t want to.” Suho shrugged.

“Then why make me do it? I’m one of the last ones you converted; I have no experience in this field. I hardly remember my fledging days!” Jongin raised his voice too loud and Kyungsoo rolled over in bed. He stared at him and hoped he would remain asleep.

“If things go as you plan, which they won’t, you will have your very own fledgling on your hands. You need the experience.” Suho explained.

Jongin’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh.” He disregarded Suho’s comment on his plans not falling through and focused on what the elder vampire was trying to do, which was to help him. “Thank you?” Jongin said with inflection. He was not quite sure why Suho was helping him after giving him all this trouble for the past three and a half months. There was nothing that could explain his sudden change of heart. Jongin bit his lip. Unless somehow Suho was trying to trap him and Kyungsoo or ruin their relationship. He tried to push the latter out of his mind and hoped that Suho was just trying to guide him and not destroy the one thing he had come to fully love during his entire existence.

Kyungsoo.

Suho frowned. He hadn’t expected Jongin to give in so easily. He thought the boy was smarter than that and would figure out his ulterior motive, but he was so blinded by this _human_ that he was forgetting what being a vampire was all about. He searched Jongin’s face for any sign of clarity and found none. ‘ _Perhaps he is a lost cause_.’ He sighed and turned on his heel and faded away into the shadows.

Jongin scratched his head. Suho gave him the strangest look before he left. He almost looked…sad. He thought again of how Suho could be planning something malicious and forced the thought out of his mind, but it kept coming back.

He smiled at Kyungsoo with a mixture of sadness and love and sat on the edge of the bed as far away from the sunlight as he could. He gazed at his hands, lost in thought. He had not been back to the enclave for about two months and he figured Suho ordering him around was his way of saying he wanted him back with the rest of the clan. He could not help but smirk because he had not actually felt the need to go back at all, he was more than happy here, in Kyungsoo’s house, in Kyungsoo and his room, in his arms. Staying up until the sunrise whispering sweet nothings to each other, basking in each other’s presence. He had found his bliss and he was determined to keep it, no matter what the costs would be. He turned to look at Kyungsoo and watched as his chest rose and fell with each breath. The way he smiled dreamily as he dozed. All of it filled Jongin with a sense of security, a sense of being wanted, and most importantly a sense of being loved. He still was not sure if Kyungsoo still saw him as Kai, but in this moment it did not matter. All that mattered was the way the sleeping Kyungsoo shifted in his sleep and murmured something unintelligible into the pillow.

Kyungsoo stirred and sat up, his hair pointing every which way and he sleepily stretched. “I thought you were going out.”

Jongin shook his head, "It’s been pushed back to after dark.”

Kyungsoo groaned in distaste. “Wait, so you’re going to be gone all night?” He sat crisscrossed with the blanket pooling around his waist.

The room had taken on a dream-like filter. Dust particles danced in the air that was filled with their silence. Jongin followed them as they twisted and twirled like tiny acrobats. Kyungsoo followed his gaze and waited with an expectant look on his face. Jongin bit his lip and sighed. “Yeah.” He felt his dread intensify. “Sorry.”

Kyungsoo scooted closer to Jongin and bumped his shoulder with his own a small grin adorned his face. "It’s alright. We’ll just spend time together now.”

Jongin draped his arm around Kyungsoo, “If you want to.”

“Of course I want to.” He nuzzled Jongin’s neck. “You smell nice.”

Jongin chuckled. “I smell like you.”

“Exactly.” Kyungsoo smirked.

Jongin nodded and turned to look at the curtains. “Would you close them? I’m still tired.”

Kyungsoo crawled back towards the window and shut it and pulled the curtains closed. “You’re not too tired are you?”

Jongin leaned back and tugged some of the blankets from Kyungsoo. “Kind of. Why?”

Kyungsoo bit his lip and blushed. “No reason.”

Jongin laughed. “You’re quite needy aren’t you?”

 

~*~

 

A few hours and one exhausted Kyungsoo later, Jongin pulled on his coat. The sun had just set and the fledgling was waiting. Jongin cast out his senses and tried to pinpoint the fledgling’s location, it took him a few seconds, but he discovered him quick enough. He was too close to Kyungsoo’s house for comfort, and Jongin planned to lure him in the opposite direction. He headed west into the forest and sniffed the air. He could smell death all around him and it unsettled him.

The forest on this night was particularly quiet, as if every animal was holding its breath. Nothing stirred in the shadows and even the wind had died down. Jongin pushed the unnerved feeling he was getting down into the depths of mind. He needed to return to the vampire Jongin, the Jongin before Kyungsoo. The mean, ruthless, and uncaring being that once roamed the shadows. The job of training a fledgling required a sort of tough love, or at least that was what he remembered from his own training.

He ducked under a low hanging branch and swatted the leaves out of his field of vision. He was tense, listening to every sound, or lack thereof, that was being made. He had pinpointed the fledging’s whereabouts to this location, but he had not seen any signs of him whatsoever. He stepped over a bush and into a small clearing where the nearly full moon shone brightly through the trees.

There were bodies everywhere. Blood smeared on the trunks of the trees, dirt under their nails, and their mouths frozen, and forever screaming into the night. A cold chill ran down Jongin’s spine. He remembered creating such scenes in his first years and a rather dark memory sprang to the front of his mind.

He was standing in an abandoned house, planks of wood were nailed over the windows and the door hung astray. There was moonlight filtering in through holes in the roof and rats scurried in the shadows. The air was filled with the acrid stench of fear and desperation. Jongin swallowed nervously, his tongue felt dry and fuzzy and his throat felt scratchy. He glanced around the dilapidated room they were in with a look of apprehension on his face.

“Just grab her.” Suho shook the young woman towards Jongin roughly. She stared up at him with pleading eyes full of fear as silent tears ran down her cheeks.

“No.” Jongin stepped back. He did not ask for this, he did not want to become a killer of innocent people. All he wanted was to be strong enough to find the murderer of his family and make sure he met their same fate in a less dignified way.

“Take her.” Suho growled and threw the girl to the ground.

She scrambled to her knees and tugged on Jongin’s shirttails. “Please, sir, don’t kill me!” Her eyes darted towards the door. “Just let me go, I promise I won’t say a word to anyone.”

Jongin stared at her, unable to respond. He had never had anyone beg him for their life before. It was a strange sensation, mixed between having absolute power and at the same time none at all. He glanced at Suho who glared at him. “I’m sorry, Miss, but–”

Suho snapped the girl’s neck. “Do not sympathize with them.” He pointed to the girl. “They are beneath you. They are your prey.”

Jongin nodded, his face blank, but inside he was a mess of emotions. He was not sure which way was up or which way was down. He had literally just watched a man kill a girl a foot away from him.

Suho stepped over her body and out the door while Jongin lingered behind to stared at the girl’s opened eyes. Suho glanced back at Jongin. “Leave her.”

“But what about her blood?”

“Useless.” Suho kept walking and Jongin hurried to catch up.

“Why?”

“Because blood tastes the best when the heart is still pumping it through their veins.” Suho led Jongin back to the forest. “If they die and you drink their blood, then it becomes poison to you after a few hours.”

“I don’t understand.” Jongin nimbly avoided tripping over a root.

“Dead blood is full of the toxins the body releases as it shuts down. If you drain them while they’re still alive, you’ll notice when the taste changes. It will become bitter as they are released and that’s when you stop drinking the blood.”

“Will it kill me if I drink dead blood?”

“No, but it will greatly weaken you if you do, so I don’t recommend it.”

They arrived at the castle and Suho sent Jongin to his room without any blood whatsoever until he could kill on his own. Eventually, Jongin came around as he stopped seeing himself as human and only saw humans as convenient containers of his food source.

Jongin shook his head to release himself from his reverie. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light as a cloud passed over the moon and the wind picked up bringing the familiar earthy scent of Kyungsoo with it. Jongin inhaled deeply and thought of returning back home.

_Home._

He gasped. He just realized he called Kyungsoo’s house his home. Well, it was after all. His life no longer revolved around the will of the clan. It revolved around the house at the edge of the forest. It revolved around waking up to the aroma of human food, which his body still rejected, but he found more creative ways to avoid eating it. It revolved around one particular human who was no longer so broken. One particular human who reminded him what life could mean and had shown him what love was.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost failed to hear the soft crunch of wet leaves approaching from behind him. Jongin turned just before the fledgling charged at him. He side-stepped him and grabbed his arm twisting it behind him and pinning him to the ground.

Jino hissed and struggled to get free of Jongin’s grip, but only succeeded in his arm being twisted further to the point it felt like it was on fire. “Get off of me! You have no idea who you are dealing with!”

Jongin chuckled. “I could say the same thing.” He pushed Jino harder into the ground.

“Yeah right, just wait until I get up. You’re going to regret doing this.” Jino struggled beneath Jongin. “God! Get off me!”

“Stop struggling and maybe I will.” He leaned over Jino and bared his fangs. “I wouldn’t try anything once I let you up, trust me.”

Jino went slack and Jongin let go of his arm and stood up. He brushed the dirt off his knees and kept Jino in his sight. Jino laid on the ground for a few more seconds, slowly untwisting his arm and bringing it to his side. He rolled over and tended to his arm while glaring at Jongin. His fangs descended and his eyes glowed red. He hissed under his breath as he slowly moved his arm to make sure he still had full use of it. His eyes flicked back up to Jongin. “Who are you?”

Jongin stared at him and said in a metallic voice. “Your mentor.”

Jino narrowed his eyes at Jongin. “You don’t look like much of one.”

A muscle in Jongin’s jaw twitched. He crossed his arms and gritted his teeth. “Look, I did not choose to mentor you, if I could I would leave you right here and go on my way.”

“So leave.” He glared at Jongin and then gestured with his uninjured arm. “Clearly I’m doing fine on my own. I don’t need a mentor.”

Jongin pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is why you need a mentor. You need to learn restraint.”

“I don’t see a problem with my current way of feeding. In fact I was headed towards my next meal, so if you don’t mind.” Jino stood up and attempted to brush past Jongin.

Jongin immediately knew he was talking about Kyungsoo. He whipped his head towards Jino and his eyes flashed. He gripped Jino’s arm so tight he pierced his skin with his nails. “He is mine.”

Jino yelped and tried to pry Jongin’s nails out of his skin. “Alright, alright, calm down, I won’t go near him! Just let go of my arm!”

Jongin dug his nails in further and hissed into Jino’s ear. “If you do, you _will_ regret it.” He let go of Jino’s arm and rubbed the blood on Jino’s shirt. “You won’t be using that arm for at least a day. Vampires heal pretty fast, but I’m sure I damaged some of your nerves.”

Jino held his arm against his side. “Thanks.” He glanced in the direction of Kyungsoo’s house. "It’s a shame because his blood smells so good. Can’t I just have a little taste?”

Jongin’s eye twitched minutely. “No.”

“Why not? Come on, it’s between vampire buddies.” He put his good arm around Jongin. His other arm had already stopped bleeding but it was still limp against his side.

Jongin threw his arm off his shoulders and bared his fangs once again. “Do not make me kill you. Suho will not be too happy with me and he isn’t that happy with me to begin with.”

“Who’s Suho?”

“Good, we’ll start there, follow me.” Jongin set off in the opposite direction of his home and towards the enclave.

“Wait! Can’t I feed once more? To make the healing process speed up?” Jino ran to keep up with Jongin’s pace.

“No.” Jongin growled.

"Fine, but who’s Suho?” Jino asked.

“He’s your maker and mine as well.” Jongin raked his nails against the tree bark and left deep grooves in it.

“Oh, so he controls both of us?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Jino glanced back in the direction of Kyungsoo’s house and frowned. “I can’t take this craving.”

“You do realize the more you talk, the more I want to rip your vocal chords out right?” Jongin said in a steely voice.

“Just let me feed and I’ll shut up.”

“You need to learn restraint. I can go weeks without feeding; you have fed how many, five times today?”

“I can’t help it; I need to fulfill the hunger.”

“I went three days without feeding when I was first changed, you can go a few hours.” Jongin was getting sick of Jino’s constant complaining; he now understood why Suho was making him train him. The kid was obnoxious.

The rest of their trip was silent as Jino soon gave up trying to make small talk with Jongin who was extremely peeved by the fact he was stuck training the pest. They finally arrived at the enclave and everyone stared at Jino’s arm when they entered.

Suho walked up to them and examined Jino’s arm. “What happened?”

“He got too overprotective over some human.” Jino shrugged.

Suho’s eyes flashed. “Come with me.” He beckoned Jongin with one finger, menacingly.

Jongin followed Suho dutifully and ignored the whispers of the rest of the EXO clan. They entered a small study and Jongin glared at Suho. “What do you want?”

Suho slashed Jongin’s arm with a knife. “Train him properly or I will order you to kill that human before the night ends.” He wiped the blood off the knife with a white handkerchief. “If I ever hear about you putting another of the clan in danger over that human I will have your head on a silver platter. We come first, not some lowly human.”

Jongin glared at Suho and bowed slightly. “Yes, Leader.” He stalked out of the room and into the main room of the enclave. He glanced at everyone who was standing there quietly watching his every move. He turned towards Jino, “Stay here, I’ll be back tomorrow night.”

“You are not leaving.” Suho called out from the study.

“Watch me.” Jongin slammed the front door shut and stomped out into the night. If Suho prevented him from seeing Kyungsoo the entire time he had to train Jino he was going to kill the fledgling. His patience ran very thin with the kid and he needed some way to alleviate the stress.

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo sighed and inspected the glass for the hundredth time. He had washed all the dishes in the kitchen three times, dusted, and straightened up every room in the house. He placed the glass in the cabinet and drummed his fingers on the counter trying to think of something to do. If it were day time he would have gone out for a stroll or to people watch, but it was winter and it was dark outside, two things Kyungsoo was not too fond of. He did not mind the dark that much but he greatly preferred the warmth of the sun on his skin as opposed to the biting breeze that the cold winter nights always consisted of.

He leaned against the counter and bit his lip. He knew one thing he could work on, but he promised Jongin he would lay low for a while so he scratched his research off his list for the time being. He sighed again and sat down at the table and hoped Jongin would return soon. He was annoyed that he was awake at this hour and had not realized his days had been flipped for the past two months. He scratched his head and tried to think of the last time he went for a walk in the morning or the last time he worked in his garden.

His eyes widened at the thought of his garden and he soon found himself struggling to pull his coat on while holding a lantern in his other hand. His feet crunched the gravel as he walked around the side of his house to his backyard. He swept his arm through the air to allow him to survey the damage. There were weeds everywhere. Kyungsoo shook his head, “Where did my days go?” he suddenly blushed when he remembered some of the things that kept him awake until the twilight hours. He wondered fleetingly about Jongin’s strange sleeping habits that had rubbed off on him, but dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

He squinted at a particularly strange looking weed and tried to pull it with his bare hands. He had not noticed the thorns on its stem and yanked his hand back, covered in blood. He had also dropped the lantern in his surprise and was now standing in complete darkness. He blinked several times waiting for his eyes to adjust and knelt down to feel around for the lantern. A cold sweat broke out on his skin and the feeling of being watched came over him. He whipped his head in the direction of the forest and called out hesitantly. “Hello?”

There was no answer, just a pair of glowing red eyes in the distance. Kyungsoo swallowed and ran back to the door, silently cursing himself for not having one located at the back of the house. Once inside he threw the bolt down and tentatively crept into the room that was once Jongin’s. He pulled back the curtains slightly and scanned the row of trees for the eyes.

“Must’ve been my imagination.” He breathed a sigh of relief and went to the washroom to rinse off his blood covered hand.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a knock at the door and shuffled over to the door apprehensively. He gripped the doorknob nervously and called through it. “Who is it?”

There was no answer again.

Kyungsoo’s heart began beating faster and he felt the room begin to sway. He slowly pulled the bolt open and opened the door a sliver. “Hello?”

Jongin pushed his way through the door and froze once he caught sight of Kyungsoo. “What’s wrong?”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “N–nothing.”

Jongin’s eyes quickly glazed over Kyungsoo and then snapped back to his hand. “Are you okay?” He gently took Kyungsoo’s hand and examined it.

Kyungsoo blushed, “I was trying to pull a weed out and I did not see the thorns and cut my hand.” He sheepishly met Jongin’s worried gaze and then he saw the cut on Jongin’s arm. “Wait, what happened to you?”

Jongin glanced at his arm, “Oh, I got scratched by a branch on my way here.”

The cut was too straight and clean to be a cut from a branch, Kyungsoo regarded Jongin skeptically. “A branch?”

Jongin sighed. “Alright, you got me.” He raised his hands up in surrender. “I got into a minor scuffle with one of my coworkers and he had a knife and–”

Kyungsoo’s eyes bugged, “A knife?” He ripped the rest of Jongin’s sleeve off and turned on the faucet and wet the strip of cloth. “I’m not so sure about your line of work.”

He looked up at Kyungsoo through his lashes. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me, I ah–” He had forgotten his injury and clutched hand that was holding the wet strip of Jongin’s shirt.

Jongin grabbed the strip and dabbed Kyungsoo’s hand. “I’ll be fine, let me help you.”

Kyungsoo nodded and watched Jongin bandage him up. He eyed Jongin’s cut again. “You should be more careful.”

Jongin laughed. “I think I should be the one saying that to you, love.”

Kyungsoo froze. Of course he and Jongin had told each other they loved each other before, but it was usually after they were both sweaty and exhausted, so when tears suddenly sprang to his eyes he did not know quite what to do. He abruptly turned around and wiped his eyes roughly.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Kyungsoo mumbled, his voice thick with tears. He realized he loved Jongin. Just Jongin, not the Kai that was in him, but all the things that made him Jongin. He loved the way he sometimes held back his smiles as if he were too shy to let them out in full force. And the way  he smelled, the way he talked, and the way he laughed.  He loved how Jongin pretended to be asleep when he woke up before him and the way he stared at him even when he knew Kyungsoo knew he was looking. He loved all of the differences he had from Kai. How he was harder to break through and how he was there to fix all the broken pieces. He liked being taken care of even though all he wanted to do was be the caretaker. All of it was different from Kai, and yet he loved every bit of it.

“No, tell me.” Jongin wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo and kissed his hair.

“I…” he swallowed nervously.

“You what?” Jongin buried his nose in Kyungsoo’s hair and inhaled deeply, a low moan of satisfaction escaped him as he exhaled.

Kyungsoo pulled back and looked Jongin in the eyes. He blinked a couple of times to hold the tears back, “I love you.”

Jongin’s jaw dropped for a second and then he smiled bigger than he ever had before. “Me?”

Kyungsoo knew what he was asking, and nodded. “You.”

Jongin pulled Kyungsoo into a tighter hug and laughed in disbelief. “I love you too.”

Kyungsoo smiled against Jongin’s shirt and whispered, “Thank you.”

“More than anything, you know?” Jongin also dropped his voice to a whisper. “And for what?”

Kyungsoo nodded, “I know.” He thought back to every moment he had spent with Kai and then back to the letter he found. He gripped Jongin’s shirt and squeezed his eyes shut. He thought of the first moment he saw Jongin and choked back a sob. He never thought it could happen, that he would be able to love someone else, but here he was, in love with Jongin, who only happened to look like Kai, but was clearly not him. He buried his face in Jongin’s shirt and murmured. “For being patient. For having hope that one day I would be able to love you for you. I did not know how long it would have taken.”

Jongin rubbed Kyungsoo’s back and kissed his forehead. “I didn’t have a choice but to wait and I would have waited for years if I had to.”

Kyungsoo looked up at Jongin startled. “Really?”

Jongin wiped Kyungsoo’s tears off his cheeks, “Really.”

Kyungsoo went on his tiptoes and kissed Jongin tenderly as a response.

 

~*~

 


	7. The Portrait

Jongin sighed in exasperation and wiped a hand down his face as Jino complained once more about not being able to feed. “I swear if you make one more remark about it I will chain you to a tree and wait until sunrise to release you.”

Jino smirked. “I don’t think Suho will take too kindly to that, Kim Jongin.”

Jongin’s fists clenched and he exhaled loudly from his nose. “Just stop complaining.”

Jino shrugged. “So where are we going today?”

“I don’t know yet.” Jongin stomped through the underbrush and begrudgingly held back branches for Jino. They were in the forest again and were headed into the next town outside of the EXO clan territory. Jongin stopped suddenly as he heard whispers carried on the wind. He raised his left hand to signal to Jino to be silent and crept slowly towards the source of the sound. There were a couple of grunts and then everything was silent. Jongin peeked around a tree trunk and saw two retreating figures. “Hey!” he called out to them and they turned around. It was Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“Oh, hey Jongin, Jino, what are you two doing out here?” Baekhyun asked while glancing up at Chanyeol nervously, who was too busy staring at the sky, lost in his own world.

“I’m training him.” Jongin rolled his eyes. “Not that I actually know what that entails.”

“He’s doing an awful job! I haven’t eaten since this morning and –” Jino was cut off abruptly by Jongin’s fist slamming into his face.

“I told you not to complain.” Jongin huffed and examined his knuckles.

“I don’t think punching him was necessary.” Baekhyun added while Chanyeol laughed.

Jongin glared at Jino and then flicked his gaze towards Baekhyun, “If you had to train him you would understand. By the way what am I supposed to be teaching him?”

Chanyeol wiped a tear from his eye and said, “You’re supposed to teach him that humans are our prey and that we should not take pity on them when we kill them and stuff like that.”

Jongin grimaced inwardly but kept his outer expression neutral. ‘ _So this was why Suho wanted me to train him, to remind me of what I am._ ’ He looked down his nose at Jino who was rubbing his jaw. “He already knows that and he clearly feels no remorse after killing so is there anything else?”

Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun shook their heads. Baekhyun then added, “That was all the training we got. We weren’t trained as long as you were so I don’t know if there is anything else that needs to be addressed.”

“Right.” Jongin nodded and wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Thanks for the help.” He turned towards Jino, “Get up, we have stuff to do.”

Jino jumped up to his feet, “But I thought I was ready. I mean, I know the difference between me and humans and I honestly don’t care who I feed from so I’m done right?”

“No.” Jongin sighed. “You still need to learn restraint.”

“How are you going to teach me that?”

“You’ll see.” Jongin smiled darkly to himself. If Suho wanted him to show him that he could still tell the difference between vampires and humans he was going to give him the show of all shows. He waved goodbye to Baekhyun and Chanyeol and picked up the pace towards the other town.

Once he arrived he could sense the difference among the people. None of them smelled of fear or paranoia. They all milled about leisurely talking to one another outside of bars and food stands as a gigantic bonfire in the center lit up all the shadows. Children ran around chasing each other by the fire and parents watched lazily as they gossiped to one another.

Jongin inhaled deeply and watched as Jino did the same. “Do you smell that?”

“Smell what?”

“The lack of fear these humans have.”

Jino sniffed the air again. “I guess, why is that important?”

Jongin grinned deviously, “You have never instilled fear in someone who had none to begin with right?”

“I don’t think so.” Jino regarded Jongin curiously.

“Good. Then tonight will be lesson one.” Jongin watched as Jino’s eyes lit up. He knew he was going to regret all the killing that was about to happen, but he figured he needed something to make Suho get off his back, and if it involved a few innocent civilians, he figured that in a decade or so he would be over it. besides, he used to go on killing sprees much like tonight’s all the time so he figured one last spree would not hurt.

He took a deep breath and pushed all thoughts of Kyungsoo into a tiny box in the back of his mind and chained it shut. He needed to call forth his former self and to do that, Kyungsoo needed to be completely gone from his thoughts. He focused on the thought of finally being free of Suho’s watchful gaze for a while and hardened his gaze. Jongin side eyed Jino as he bounced up and down on his feet waiting for his signal to head out. Jongin watched as Jino’s gaze grew hungrier and his pupils completely dilated despite the bright light the bonfire was casting off. He could feel his former self stretch like a panther within him as it slowly pulled itself from the depths of his soul. It felt as if tendrils of it traveled through him down to his fingertips and he felt the once familiar emptiness consume him. He glanced at Jino once more and said, “Try to spare the children and their mothers at least.”

Jino nodded. “Right.”

Jongin closed his eyes and once he opened them, he was a completely different man. His hunger coursed through him and he could hear every individual heartbeat of every human. He could see the beads of sweat on their faces as they neared the bonfire. “We need to extinguish the fire and then it’s a free-for-all.”

Jino nodded in agreement once more. “How will we do that?”

Suddenly Suho was next to him and Jongin languidly turned to face him. “You’re just in time for the show.”

Screams rang through the night as frenzied humans darted wildly in the darkness unable to see. Primal fear coursed through their veins with the adrenaline that fueled their frenzy. Suho watched from the side lines as Jongin and Jino tore into the necks of their unsuspecting victims with a small smile on his face.

Jongin found himself face to face with a young woman that resembled the young woman from his fledgling days and he quickly bit into her neck without so much as a second thought. His eyes met Suho’s as he drank deeply from her jugular and he wiped his mouth sloppily as he dropped her corpse to the ground. Suho’s eyes held satisfaction in them and he nodded slowly as Jongin snatched another victim seemingly from thin air and sank his teeth into their neck while he clamped his hand over their mouth to muffle their screams. He finally broke his gaze when Jino appeared beside him blood dripping from his mouth covering the entire lower half of his face and staining his shirt.

Jino clapped a hand on Jongin’s shoulder and smiled, only it looked quite grotesque because of all the blood. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Jongin’s mind was still focused on draining the blood from his victim that he did not quite full comprehend what Jino was saying. His mind had become that of a feral animal as he could only focus on one thing and one thing only. He cocked his head to the side when he dropped the young man from his grip and advanced towards Suho, who was eyeing him with pride. He snapped his gaze towards Jino after a few seconds and waited until his fang retracted before he opened his mouth. “I’ve been doing this for centuries, fledgling, do not doubt me.”

Suho chuckled and patted Jongin on the back. “Good work. I’ll take care of training him from now on.”

Jongin stared at Suho with an incomprehensible expression on his face and nodded. He was not quite sure how to feel about Suho suddenly relieving him of his training position, but he was not going to question it either. He glanced back at the carnage behind him and felt a small stirring within him. He turned around abruptly and headed into the forest as Jino and Suho watched him leave.  The farther he got away from them, the faster his former self retreated. His hands began to shake and his knees felt weak. He had killed at least thirty people tonight. Thirty people with families and dreams and feelings. He felt disgusted in himself, but he knew that it was the only way Suho would give him some leeway with Kyungsoo. The thought of Kyungsoo made his stomach flip and he frowned. He did not want Kyungsoo to see him like this, covered in innocent blood and eyes wild from the adrenaline that now sustained him. He licked his lips and tasted a small trace of blood on his lips and scowled. None of the blood he had drank tonight was as sweet as Kyungsoo’s, in fact it all tasted rather bitter and bland compared to the explosion of taste that filled his mouth when he drank a little of the precious blood. Nothing compared to it, it was ambrosia to him.

He sighed and slid down against a tree and buried his face in his hands. He could not see how he could face Kyungsoo after what he did. He was fine killing one or two people a week and he usually went after people who deserved to die since he got involved with Kyungsoo, so he did not feel guilty about their deaths, but all those innocent people he killed tonight would surely haunt him. He stood and followed the scent of water and came upon a small slow moving river. He peered inside of it and only saw the reflection of the sky above him. He waved his hand over the water and still nothing reflected back to him. He wondered briefly if Kyungsoo could maybe draw him so he could see what he looked like now since he has not seen his reflection since he was changed. He dipped his hands into the water and watched as the blood swirled downstream absentmindedly. He quickly rinsed his face and pulled his shirt off to wash that in the river as well.

He still had a few hours until sunrise and he hoped in those few hours he could sort through his emotions enough so he would not worry Kyungsoo when he returned. He rubbed his temples as he walked through the forest towards the open road. By some strange luck there was a coachman waiting for him on the side of the road and he nodded in greeting as he climbed into the back of the coach. The coachman slapped the reigns once and Jongin rocked forward  as the horses lurched. He sat in complete silence as he sorted through his feelings.

He made it halfway through the trip before he finally decided it was time to reveal his true self to Kyungsoo. He hoped Kyungsoo would accept him no matter what but there was a tiny voice in the back of his mind that told him otherwise. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, telling Kyungsoo was going to be difficult but he figured there was no other way. He leaned back against the leather seat in the coach and sighed as he stared out the window.

Once he arrived at the house, he slowly shuffled inside and hung up his coat. He sighed again and braced himself against the sink before he dragged his feet to the room. He opened the door painstakingly slow and stared at the ground as he entered. “Kyungsoo, we need to talk.”

There was no response. Jongin whipped his head up and his eyes grew large as he realized Kyungsoo was not in the room. In a panic, he ran through the house slamming doors open, calling out his name, and checking every inch of the house for Kyungsoo. He peered out the windows and squinted, the sun was now rising and Jongin had no clue where Kyungsoo was. He was helpless. Jongin bit his lip harshly as tears of frustration and concern escaped him. He hastily wiped them away and sat down in one of the dining room chairs and hoped that Kyungsoo would come walking through the door at any moment.

He noticed the tea kettle sitting on the table and felt it, it was cold. Kyungsoo had been gone for hours. He cursed aloud at his weakness against the sun and stared anxiously at the knob waiting for it to twist, signaling Kyungsoo’s return.

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo rolled over in bed and stared at the wall. He still felt somewhat giddy from earlier but a feeling of dread washed over him once he felt Jongin’s absence. He reached over to see how warm Jongin’s side of the bed was and it was cool to his fingers.

He sighed and sat up, running his fingers through his hair and wrapped the sheet around his shoulders as he padded over to the closet to find some clothes. He quickly dressed himself and made his way into the kitchen where he made a cup of tea and sipped it. he glanced out the window and noticed there was hardly any moonlight outside. He stepped closer to the window and examined the sky, the moon had a blood red tint to it. Kyungsoo shivered as a draft of cool air hit him and took another sip of his tea. He checked the clock by the door and figured he had a few hours before Jongin returned.

He placed the cup on the counter and quickly pulled on his coat and headed out. He knew he promised Jongin he would stop his research, but something about tonight made him want to explore just a little more. He pulled his coat tighter around him and slipped his hands into the gloves he had stowed in the pockets and hunched his shoulders as he walked towards town.

He found himself lost in a small crowd that had gathered outside of someone’s house and pushed his way to the front. Police were swarming the area and flashlights were beaming everywhere. He pulled his hat down a little farther and walked through the front door. Nausea washed over him and nearly brought him to his knees. There were bodies everywhere, all of them were bloated as if they had been dead for days and their skin was mottled by the necks and wrists.

Kyungsoo leaned closer to one of the bodies and examined the bite marks on her neck. They were tiny, perfectly spaced, holes nearly obscured by all the dried blood. He reached into his hidden pocket for his notepad and mentally slapped himself as he remembered that his notepad had been taken from him a while ago. He quickly felt around in his coat and pulled out another notepad that he hadn’t used and began to sketch the bite marks on them, a strange feeling of recognition plague him but he could not quite pinpoint why the bite marks looked so familiar.

One of the officers spotted him and tipped his hat off to him before advancing towards him. “Normally I would ask you to leave, but we are just as perplexed as you are by the sudden appearance of all these bodies.”

Kyungsoo nodded. “They look like they’ve been dead for days.”

The officer frowned a little, “I know. That’s what leaves us all confused.” He scratched the back of his head, “To make matters worse, we haven’t heard from our supervisor so we don’t know what to do about this. We suppose there is a murderer in town.”

Kyungsoo bit back a scoff and raised his eyebrow. “You don’t say?” The officer narrowed his eyes slightly and scowled. Kyungsoo pressed on, “Have you not noticed all the missing person’s reports? They have increased substantially in the past week and you guys do nothing but blame the missing people and their subsequent deaths on an outsider.”

“There is some information we cannot release to the general public.” The officer’s scowl deepened.

“I think everyone has a right to know, and once I finish putting together my research, I will let everyone know what has been killing them off.” Kyungsoo closed his notepad and stuffed it back into his pocket. He nodded his head at the other officers and abruptly left. He felt as if he was finding out more information by the second and decided to head towards the police station. It had to be nearly empty since there were so many officers swarming the new crime scene.

He opened the door to the station and was met by cold black eyes drilling holes into him from the man sitting at the reception desk. “May I help you, sir?”

Kyungsoo shook his head and kept walking directly back to the filing room.

“You can’t go back there, sir. It is for authorized people only.” The receptionist stated blandly.

Kyungsoo glanced back at the receptionist and found himself lying effortlessly. “I’m picking up a file for my brother, he’s at the crime scene and he asked me to get a file for him.”

The receptionist eyed him suspiciously for a moment and then his eyes lit up, “Oh you must be the new officer’s brother. Alright then, carry on.”

Kyungsoo smirked to himself at his success and quickly locked the door behind him and felt around the room in the darkness until his hands landed on an oil lamp. He turned it on and jumped back nearly ten feet. The red haired man was sitting in one of the chairs in the shadows twirling a dagger between his fingers.

“I warned you.” He snapped his fingers and the lamp went out.

Kyungsoo froze, his heart rate increasing rapidly and his breath came out in shallow puffs. He looked around in the pitch dark and tried to listen for his assailant. He was struck from behind and as he fell to the ground he called out Jongin’s name.

“Oh, he won’t be helping you anytime soon.” The man laughed and two more pairs of shoes came into view.

Kyungsoo fought to stay conscious but failed. He was falling into darkness. He heard a familiar voice call out his name and for a second he thought it was Jongin, but much to his surprise, it was Kai. A wave of emotions rolled through him and he blinked several times as the blackness faded into a location he had never seen before. He looked around him and saw Kai walking towards him. He felt his eyes prickle and his hands began to shake. “Am I dead?”

Kai laughed, “No, you are just unconscious.”

Relief flooded him, “Oh good.” Kai’s lips fell into a frown and a twinge of guilt squeezed his heart. “Sorry.”

Kai smiled weakly at Kyungsoo and continued to  stand awkwardly to his side. “Don’t be, I was just hoping you’d be excited to see me.”

Kyungsoo jumped to his feet and hugged Kai. “I am, trust me.”

Kai squeezed him tighter and leaned down to kiss him, but Kyungsoo pulled back hesitantly pulled away before he could. “I don’t understand.”

Kyungsoo bit his lip and let the tears roll down his cheeks. “I – this doesn’t feel right. I – I can’t. I–”

Kai stared at him and then pulled him into another hug and ran his fingers through his hair. "It’s okay, I’m here now. There is nothing to worry about.”

Kyungsoo shook his head and tried to pull away again. “I’m sorry.”

Kai’s lip quivered and his eyes watered. “Sorry for what?”

“I can’t do this right now. Jongin, I mean, Kai, I don’t know.”

Kai’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s Jongin?”

“He’s you, I think. Now I’m not so sure, but I think he’s you.” Kyungsoo whispered as he stared at his feet, hugging himself.

“No he’s not. I am me. I haven’t been reincarnated yet, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.” He started wiping his tears away roughly.

Kyungsoo reached up to stop him and wiped away his tears with his thumb, “But you have been. Right now you’re only a figment of my imagination while I’m knocked out.”

“No I’m not.” Kai insisted. He grabbed both of Kyungsoo’s hands and held them. “Please, believe me when I say I’m me.”

“No, Jongin is you. I really wish my mind would stop bringing you back because seeing you hurts because I know you’re back home and I know how you hate hearing me talk about you and…” He trailed off as Kai’s face fell.

He pulled away and turned his back on Kyungsoo. “You love him don’t you?”

Kyungsoo cocked his head. “Yes, but that shouldn’t bother you because he is you, right?”

Kai turned back around ignoring the tears that rolled down his cheeks. “He is not. I can see you’ve moved on and don’t worry I won’t come back.”

Kyungsoo’s jaw dropped, “Wait! Don’t do that, please come back. I know it hurts me but I can live with that pain I promise.”

Kai shook his head and smiled bitterly. “No I won’t hurt you again.”

“But I want you to, even if this isn’t real, it’s nice to see you as the one I first fell in love with.”

Kai clenched his fists. “You don’t get it do you? That Jongin guy is not me, I am me.”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “No you’re wrong.”

Kai sighed.. “Maybe one day you’ll get it.” He smiled brokenly at Kyungsoo and kissed his forehead. “Goodbye Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo stood frozen as Kai faded away, the light touch of his lips lingered. He felt as though something had been torn out of him.  He felt as though he was falling although he was not quite sure why.

 

~*~

 

The door knob turned and Jongin sprang to his feet. He dodged the ray of light that permeated through the open door and watched in horror as Suho walked in carrying Kyungsoo. “What did you do to him?”

“He got too close.” Suho said as he handed the unconscious Kyungsoo to Jongin. “I had to stop him. I’m not sure why I did not just kill him instead.”

Jongin looked down at Kyungsoo’s face and smiled faintly. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Not killing him.”

“Oh I’m not.” Suho smiled suddenly. “You are.”

Jongin nearly dropped Kyungsoo in surprise. “What?” There was no way he just commanded him to kill Kyungsoo. He would not do it. He could not do it.

“You heard me. You have until the end of this week.” There was an unsaid threat behind that last part.

“Or you’ll do what?” Jongin asked. He was quickly counting down the days he had left until the week ended and his eyes grew large as he realized he only had four more days.

“You’ll see.” Suho raised his eyebrow.

“What if I change him tonight?”

“We’ve been through this already.” Suho said and vanished into the shadows.

Jongin looked down at Kyungsoo and frowned. He was not quite sure how he was going to do this. He thought about changing him now and then having him wake up as a vampire, but he felt that not giving him a choice was wrong somehow so he opted for just placing him on their bed and watching him until he woke up.

It was a few hours after dark when Kyungsoo finally stirred and Jongin leapt over to his side in an instant. “Are you okay?”

Kyungsoo rubbed his eyes and stared at Jongin for a few seconds before he burst into tears. “I’m sorry! I know you said to stop investigating but I couldn’t and I ended up being attacked and I thought I was dead!” He blubbered.

Jongin tried to keep his face from showing the hurt, but he could feel Kyungsoo’s eyes searching his face. “I’m glad you’re okay.” He tentatively reached out and hugged Kyungsoo, but Kyungsoo remained stiff in his arms. “What’s wrong?”

Kyungsoo stared at him. “Why aren’t you mad?”

“Why would I be mad?”

“Because I broke my promise.”

Jongin laughed and buried his nose in Kyungsoo’s hair and breathed in his scent. He felt comforted and alive when he breathed him in. “I’m just happy you’re alive.”

“Oh.” Kyungsoo’s smile faltered for a moment. “Me too.”

Jongin frowned. “Now what’s wrong?”

Kyungsoo wringed his hands for a few seconds and then ended up telling Jongin about all of his dream meetings with Kai. He bit his lip and looked up at Jongin sheepishly. “I don’t know why it keeps happening.”

Jongin felt his mood drop as Kyungsoo told him each meeting and he stared at his hands the entire time. He knew that Kyungsoo loved him, but he figured that he loved Kai just a little bit more. He half smiled at Kyungsoo and said, “I think you’re just having a hard time letting go…” He wanted to tell Kyungsoo his secret now, but he couldn’t. He knew it would mess everything up. He wanted so badly just to tell him but part of him feared his response.

Kyungsoo nodded. “I’m trying, Jongin, I really am.”

“I know.” He kissed Kyungsoo’s hair and hugged him tightly. He felt like he was breaking. He did not want to kill him. He wanted to spend all of eternity with him by his side. He wanted to be able to finally share all of himself with Kyungsoo instead of hiding in the shadows. He wanted Kyungsoo to experience what he experienced. He knew that if they were both vampires then they could share a little taste of each other and he wanted to be bitten by him. He wanted to share that extremely personal moment with him.

Kyungsoo pulled back from the hug and smiled. “But I did happen to find out some rather interesting things last night.”

Jongin smiled. “Like what?”

“I think I know what has been killing people in this town.”

Jongin glanced at the shadows and tried to feel if Suho was listening in by some means, but he couldn’t feel his presence so he relaxed a little. He was curious to find out what Kyungsoo had come up with.

Kyungsoo reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his notepad. He quickly flipped through it and showed Jongin his sketches. Jongin felt apprehension creeping through him. He recognized those bodies. They were the ones that Jino had hidden in the forest. He could not figure out why Jino had moved them into the open like that. Kyungsoo snapped his fingers in front of Jongin’s eyes. “Are you alright?”

Jongin shook his head to clear his thoughts and nodded. “Yeah. I just got a little lost in my head for a second.”

Kyungsoo smiled and continued talking. “So I discovered these tiny bite marks on them, which was quite different from the usual mutilated wounds I see and I think they look sort of familiar, don’t you think?”

Jongin carefully kept his face blank. “No, not really.”

“Oh.” Kyungsoo frowned. “I guess my hunch was wrong then.”

“What hunch?”

“I thought they looked kind of like the little bite marks I had on me after we went to the pond, so I think there may be some type of insect that is biting people and causing them to die. Although I’m not sure why I’m still alive…must be some type of immunity I picked up in the New World or something.”

Jongin breathed a sigh of relief, Kyungsoo still had no idea what was actually killing people and that calmed his nerves. “Maybe.”

Kyungsoo smiled and put the notepad back in his coat pocket. He stood up and stretched. “I want to go out.”

Jongin frowned. “Let’s just stay in. You were injured and you need to rest.”

Kyungsoo looked at him. “I’ve been inside so much though, I want to do something.”

Jongin sighed. He did not like having to resort to persuading Kyungsoo this way, but he needed him to stay inside while it was dark out. “How about in the morning or something?” He leaned back against the pillows and slowly slid his gaze over Kyungsoo while licking his lips.

Kyungsoo blushed slightly and swallowed. “But I want–”

Jongin smirked dangerously and cut him off. “How about we do what I want?”

Kyungsoo glanced at the door and then back at Jongin. “And what is that exactly?”

Jongin followed Kyungsoo’s gaze and then reached over and pulled him on the bed. “This.”

A few hours later, Kyungsoo was still asleep and Jongin gently brushed a strand of his hair out of his face. He drew little circles on his skin and stared at him. “There’s something I want to tell you.”

Kyungsoo mumbled something in his sleep and nuzzled Jongin. “What?”

Jongin froze, “You’re awake?”

Kyungsoo nodded. “Yeah.”

Jongin laughed and slid his hand under the sheets, “Then clearly I didn’t do my job well enough.”

Kyungsoo opened one eye and muttered. “Not now, I’m too tired.” He pulled Jongin’s hand up and kissed it. “Later, I’m going back to sleep.”

Jongin chuckled. “Whatever you say, love.”

Kyungsoo smiled with his eyes closed and drifted back to sleep. Jongin waited until his breathing deepened signaling actual sleep and whispered once more. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but it’s really important.” He watched Kyungsoo’s chest rise and fall for a few more moments and then continued. “I’m not who you think I am.” He bit his lip, “I’m not Kai. I can’t possibly be him since I’ve been a vampire longer than you have lived.” He waited for the feeling of relief to wash over him and was disappointed when it was barely a trickle. He knew he would have to tell him when he was actually awake and listening to him, but this moment of practice relaxed him a tiny bit. He stared at Kyungsoo’s face and then kissed him lightly.

Kyungsoo melted into the kiss and opened his eyes. “Is it later already?”

Jongin laughed. “If you want it to be.”

Kyungsoo lightly touched Jongin’s chest and slowly lowered his hands and smiled. “Yes, please.”

Jongin’s breath hitched and he moaned, “As you wish.”

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo bolted upright and hit Jongin on the arm to wake him up. “Wake up. I have an idea!”

Jongin groaned and pushed Kyungsoo’s hands away. “No.”

Kyungsoo grabbed Jongin’s arm and tugged it. “Come on!”

Jongin pulled his arm back and yank the sheet up over his head. “No. I don’t know about you but, I’m exhausted.”

Kyungsoo frowned and then hit Jongin’s head with a pillow. “Get up. I want to do something special. Get dressed.”

“Is the sun up?” Jongin mumbled from under the pillow.

“Yeah, and it’s a beautiful day out, let’s do something.” Kyungsoo was starting to get annoyed by Jongin’s resistance.

Jongin peeked out from under the pillow and sheet and then pulled them back over his head. “Too bright outside, let’s just stay in okay?”

Kyungsoo thought for a second and then smiled brightly. He ran towards the closet and pulled down the box and pouted in disappointment when he discovered all his paints had dried up. “Okay fine, but I need to run a few errands first.”

Jongin shot up to a sitting position. “How long will you be gone?”

Kyungsoo puffed up his cheeks and then let the air out, “Probably about an hour, I only want to get a few things.” He needed to get some more paints and a new sketchbook. He figured that it was time to make some memories with Jongin that he could look back on in the future.

Jongin scratched the back of his head and bit his lip. “Be careful.”

Kyungsoo smiled as he quickly pulled on some clothes and grabbed a small satchel. “I will.”

Jongin beckoned him over to the bed. “Come here for a moment.”

Kyungsoo walked over to him and stood there. “What?”

Jongin reached up and pulled him down so he could kiss him. “Promise me you won’t get hurt.”

Kyungsoo smiled dazedly, “I promise.”

“Don’t break this one.” Jongin called out as Kyungsoo left the room.

Kyungsoo shook his head as he smiled to himself and opened the front door. He squinted in the sun and tugged his coat close. He walked briskly into town and scanned the stands for the one he always used to avoid passing by. He spotted it after a few moments and made a beeline towards it. The man running the stand looked up in surprise from his newspaper as Kyungsoo walked up to him.

“How may I help you?”

Kyungsoo glanced at the headline for the newspaper and felt his stomach drop. There had been a horrible massacre in the next town over. There were no survivors. He flicked his gaze up at the man and smiled brightly as he pushed the headline to the recess of his mind. “I’m looking for some paints and a sketchbook of some sort.”

The man scratched his beard, “I don’t have a sketchbook but I have a couple of small canvases if you want those?”

Kyungsoo pursed his lips in thought and shook his head. “I’ll just get one from somewhere else, then. Do you have paints?”

The man frowned, “These canvases are quite spectacular though, and I’ll give you one for free if you buy at least ten paints.”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “No, I don’t need the canvas, I’ll just buy the paints.” He pointed to a few that he really liked and then added a couple more colors that he figured he would eventually use. The man continued to try to sell him the canvas, but Kyungsoo kept turning him down. In the end however, he found himself stuffing three canvases into his satchel with the paints that clinked in their bottles as he headed to another stand he hoped would have sketchbooks.

He soon stumbled upon a small shop on the corner of an alley and walked in. The lighting was quite strange as there were cloths draped over the tops of the oil lamps. Kyungsoo looked at them and inched as far away from them as possible in case they burst into flame. He found himself flipping through a rather old book when a strange woman came from the back. He glanced up at her and smiled weakly before returning to the book.

It was rather interesting because it told of strange creatures that roamed the night, killing people and leaving them dead and bloodless. Kyungsoo felt shivers down his spine and suddenly the woman was at his side smiling sinisterly.

“Interesting isn’t it?” Her voice sounded odd, as though she were trying to disguise it.

Kyungsoo blinked at her and slowly nodded. “Yeah, especially the one about the, uh, vampires.”

She inched closer to him and Kyungsoo felt a cold sweat develop on his forehead, she whispered into his ear, “Get out.”

Kyungsoo did not need to be told twice and he bolted out of the shop, although he could have sworn the woman looked an awful lot like that red haired man from before. He shook his head and continued walking until he found the shop where he bought his notepads a long time ago.

The shop owner smiled up at Kyungsoo. “Long time no see huh?”

Kyungsoo smiled, “Yeah, I’m looking for a larger version of what I usually buy.”

The shop owner shook his head sadly. “I just sold the last one to someone last night, sorry. But, come back next week and I should have a few more. I’ll put one aside for you if you want?”

Kyungsoo thanked the man and told him to do just that and left. He was somewhat disappointed that he was unable to find the sketchbook today, but he patted his satchel and smiled as he remembered the canvases that were in there. He guessed he would be using them after all.

He passed by another stand that was selling small leather bracelets and bought one for Jongin. He was not quite sure why he did so, but he figured some spontaneity was good every now and then. He hummed to himself as he walked back to his house, having already forgotten about the strange woman in the shop and the horrible news headline.

When he arrived, he  was greeted by Jongin hugging him tightly. “Maybe I should go out more often.” He smiled up at Jongin.

Jongin laughed and shook his head in disagreement. “No, you should stay with me forever.”

“I’d like that.” Kyungsoo smiled sweetly and pulled out of the hug and looked down. “Why are you still not dressed?”

Jongin glanced down at himself and laughed. “I heard you coming and I guess I forgot to finish getting dressed.”

Kyungsoo chuckled, “Well go put something on, I want to show you my surprise.” He lightly pushed Jongin back towards the room and then went back to his living room where he set up the canvas on an easel and pulled out the paints and set them up on the window sill. He pulled the first layer of curtains open and left the gossamer ones closed to create a dream like aura to the room and then he grabbed some extra brushes of varying sizes and dug out a bottle of turpentine to rinse them.

Jongin came out of the room and froze in the hallway. Kyungsoo turned around and ran over to get him. “Just stay still for a moment so I can get a good outline of you.” Jongin didn’t say anything but stared at Kyungsoo in disbelief. Kyungsoo chuckled, “Make a more pleasant expression, unless you want my first painting of you to look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Jongin’s eyes glistened with unshed tears and he smiled the biggest smile Kyungsoo had ever seen. “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”

“I can.” Kyungsoo chirped. "It’s called turning over a new leaf. I used to sketch Kai all the time so I want to paint a portrait of you.”

Jongin’s face lit up and he settled down on the chair as far from the light as he could. Kyungsoo shook his head and pulled the drapes closed and lit a few oil lamps. Jongin visibly relaxed and sank into the sofa, a lazy smile on his face.

Kyungsoo stared at him, examining with an artist’s eye and began laying down the first few strokes.

 

~*~

 

Jongin was still in disbelief. He watched as Kyungsoo lifted the brush and dipped into one color and then the next to get the perfect shade. He had never been painted before and the experience was quite interesting. He felt almost naked when Kyungsoo examined him, not in the nude sense, but in the sense that Kyungsoo was staring into his soul. He felt exposed down to his core as Kyungsoo’s eyes glided down him and his lips puckered in scrutiny each time. Jongin felt shivers of pleasure running down his spine and he felt a giddy bliss bubble up within him. He kept the lazy smirk on his face despite all the butterflies that fluttered in his stomach each time he made eye contact with Kyungsoo.

It was different seeing him like this. He looked so sure of himself and completely happy at the same time. It was like all those years of suffering had rolled off his shoulders when he was painting him. Jongin didn’t mind laying still for the first few hours as long as he was watching Kyungsoo. He wanted to see the portrait, but he was completely satisfied seeing Kyungsoo’s expressions change. He soon found himself smiling brightly as the lazy smirk faded into his true emotions.

He laughed when Kyungsoo accidently smudged some blue paint on his nose when he scratched it and tried to get up to wipe it off, but Kyungsoo waved a paint brush at him menacingly so he remained in his position. Soon it was dark out and Kyungsoo smiled as he put the finishing touches to the portrait. He looked at Jongin with sparkling eyes and beckoned him over.

Jongin’s jaw dropped. He had no idea how much his appearance had remained the same. He looked just like he used to when he was still human, only a tad paler. He pulled Kyungsoo into a tight hug and kissed him all over his face and hair in thanks. “Thank you.” He turned back to stare at the painting and his eyes traced every brush stroke. His smile grew when he saw that he was smiling in the portrait and he turned back to Kyungsoo and grinned.

Kyungsoo laughed, “You act like you haven’t seen yourself in ages.”

Jongin’s smile faltered for a split second and then he sighed. “I haven’t. Not like this at least.”

Kyungsoo’s grin deepened. “Well, I’m glad I thought of this then.”

Jongin stared at the painting again and then beamed. He was finally going to tell Kyungsoo the truth. “I–” He began.

“There’s–” Kyungsoo said at the same time and then he laughed. “You first.”

“No you.” Jongin smiled.

“I said it first, so you go first.” He insisted.

Jongin took a deep breath and whispered. “The reason why I haven’t seen myself is because…”

Kyungsoo nodded slowly as if to say _Go on._

“Because I haven’t seen my reflection in a long time.”

Kyungsoo laughed. “What are you talking about?”

“I can’t see my reflection, and neither can you.” Jongin bit his lip.

“I don’t get it.” Kyungsoo shook his head.

“I can’t go out in the sun because I’ll burn.”

Kyungsoo face contorted in confusion. “I know that, but what does that have to do with not seeing your reflection?”

“I mean, I’ll literally burst into flame.” Jongin stared into Kyungsoo’s eyes willing him to understand.

“Alright.” Kyungsoo laughed nervously. “What are you trying to say?”

“I can’t eat human food either, it makes me sick.”

“If you don’t like my cooking then just tell me and I’ll – wait, _human_?” Kyungsoo frowned.

Jongin grabbed Kyungsoo’s hand and pulled him over to the sofa and sat down. He gazed into his eyes and took another deep breath. “I’m not who you think I am.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen in surprise as Jongin’s fangs descended. He pulled his hands out of Jongin’s and scooted back. “What are you?”

Jongin felt his shoulders droop at Kyungsoo’s response. “I’m a vampire.” He held his breath and his eyes searched Kyungsoo’s face for any sign of disapproval. He knew that what he was doing could end in disaster, but he was finally willing to take the risk.

Kyungsoo gaped at him and shook his head. “No.”

Jongin deflated, he felt a strange pressure in his chest and he stood up abruptly. “I’ll leave if you want me to.” He could not bear to see the expression on Kyungsoo’s face.

“So you’re not Kai?” Kyungsoo face was frozen in shock and he kept blinking rapidly.

“No, I’m not. In fact I couldn’t possibly be him since I’m centuries old.” Jongin reached for his coat and tugged it on slowly. This was the end. He was going to have to leave now, or face Kyungsoo’s actual reaction once it sank in.

“Where are you going?” Kyungsoo shook himself out of a private reverie and frowned.

“I’m leaving.” Jongin felt the dread building up within him. He figured if he left before Kyungsoo exploded at him or burst into tears, he would be okay. He stifled a sob and reached for the doorknob.

“No you’re not.” Kyungsoo sprung up and darted over in front of the door. He looked up at Jongin with wild determination in his eyes. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Why not? I’m not Kai. I’m not even human.” Jongin said in a deadpan voice. He felt empty, Kyungsoo still had not reacted completely and this bothered him.

“I don’t care.” Kyungsoo shrugged. “I fell in love with a boy who was supposedly a descendant from a goddess, and now I’m in love with a…” he trailed off.

Jongin froze. “So you don’t want me to leave?”

“Why would I want that?”

“Because I’m not Kai.”

“I said I didn’t care. I fell for you for who you were. I couldn’t quite figure out why you were different, but I guess that’s because you’re not him and I’m okay with that.”

“Just ‘okay’?”

“More than okay.” He wrapped his arms around Jongin’s neck.

Jongin smiled crookedly. “So you’re not scared of me?”

Kyungsoo laughed. “Scared? No, in fact I’m quite fascinated. You just proved to me that I did discover a new humanoid species, even if it was unintentional.”

Jongin chuckled. “Okay, so what about me fascinates you?”

“You said you’re centuries old, so that’s one thing, another is your fangs, which makes me wonder…” he paused, “Have you been biting me?”

Jongin blushed. “Yes.” He stared at the ground, suddenly unable to meet Kyungsoo’s curious gaze.

Kyungsoo touched his bottom lip and stared at the ground lost in thought. “So that’s where all those little marks came from.” He looked up at Jongin suddenly with eager eyes. “What do I taste like?”

Jongin’s blush deepened. He was not ready to answer these types of questions. “Um. You taste really good. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“So is it a turn on or something?” Kyungsoo smirked. “Should I give you permission to bite me whenever you want to or should I forbid you to and you have to sneakily bite me? I mean you’ve clearly been doing that already so I guess it doesn’t matter if I give you permission or not, but still.”

Jongin stared hard at the floor and widened his eyes in embarrassment. “You ask a lot of questions.”

“Well?” Kyungsoo grabbed Jongin’s chin and forced him to look at him.

“Uh, I guess so.”

“You guess what?”

“Both.” Jongin felt extremely sheepish answering him.

“Both what?” Kyungsoo’s smirk turned devilish and he exposed his neck playfully. “Should I let you bite me here?” He then raised his wrist, “Or here?”

Jongin bit his lip furiously. “Okay stop. You are not being fair.”

Kyungsoo grinned, “Or there are a couple of major veins in the groin area, you could always bite me there.”

Jongin stood up abruptly and walked away. “Maybe I should not have told you.” He was shaking his head, he could not believe how well Kyungsoo was taking this or the path he chose to take it on.

Kyungsoo laughed. “I like having this control over you. It’s fun.” He leaned back against the sofa and raised an eyebrow at Jongin. “You still did not answer my question.”

“Which one?” Jongin peeked at Kyungsoo from between his fingers and forced himself to remain where he was standing.

Kyungsoo touched his neck and smirked. “Both of them.”

Jongin bit his lip and stared at the ceiling. “Yes. Yes it is and I would like to have permission, because that would be very different for me since I’ve never had permission before.”

Kyungsoo laughed. “Then I give you permission to bite me, Jongin.” He unbuttoned the first few buttons on his shirt and exposed his neck even more.

Jongin swallowed a moan as he gazed at the pale neck and the veins that were throbbing beneath his skin. He slowly staggered over to the sofa and sat down next to him awkwardly. Kyungsoo climbed on his lap and straddled him, and tilted his head so that Jongin had easy access to his neck. Jongin swallowed nervously and lightly kissed his neck and then pulled back.

Kyungsoo frowned slightly. “That’s it?”

“No I didn’t bite you yet.” Jongin smiled sheepishly. “This feels so weird to me, I’m sorry.”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “Just bite me.”

Jongin licked his lips and gently tilted Kyungsoo’s head and carefully sank his teeth into him. Kyungsoo let out a tiny gasp and dug his fingers into Jongin’s back. Jongin drank deeply for a few seconds and then he licked the bite once to stop the blood flow. He only bit into a tiny vein so he would not be tempted to drank his fill and he gazed at Kyungsoo drunkenly and kissed him.

Kyungsoo pulled back in a slight daze. “I didn’t think it would feel so good.”

Jongin grinned. “How did it feel?”

“Amazing.” He smiled and then shook his head. “Is this what makes our nights so, um, great?”

Jongin shrugged. “I guess. I have never been bitten like that before so I wouldn’t know how it felt.”

“Oh.” Kyungsoo closed his eyes and swayed slightly. “I like it.”

Jongin chuckled and then took a deep breath. It was now or never and he wanted to find out if he had a chance of saving Kyungsoo. He knew he was not going to kill him in four days, he just could not do that, and a part of him was terrified of what Suho might do. “Would you want me to change you?”

Kyungsoo balked. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Someone has to be able to go out in the sun in this house.” He slid off of Jongin’s lap and walked into the kitchen. “You can’t buy groceries at night, by then all the good food has been bought.”

“You won’t need to buy food.”

“Oh.” Kyungsoo stared into the sink.

Jongin chewed his lip nervously. “Is there any other reason why you don’t want me to change you?” He watched as Kyungsoo continued to stare into the sink. He could see the gears turning in his head and the amount of time he took to answer him made the moment tense.

“I’ll think about it.” Kyungsoo wouldn’t meet his eyes at first but when he did, Jongin could see the trace of sadness that filled them before Kyungsoo covered it up with an insinuating smile. “Come and bite me.”

Jongin smiled. “I think I took a little too much blood before.”

Kyungsoo walked over and grabbed his hand. “Maybe from my neck, but there are other places you could bite.”

 

~*~

 

 


	8. The Beginning of the End

Kai was stuck. He was floating in nothingness, a black abyss. He felt as though something large was sitting on his chest at all times constricting his movements. It was so hard to breathe. He listened as his breath came out in shallow puffs. He always felt as if he would pass out at any moment from the lack of oxygen. He longed for the next visit he would make to see Kyungsoo. His face contorted in pain as he thought of their most recent encounter and how Kyungsoo pushed him away in confusion. He thought that he would be happy to see him move on but, that was before he was plucked from his paradise and thrown into some sort of limbo.

He remained there floating in the dark forever trying to catch his breath as he tried to return to his eternal paradise. He ended up giving up due to many months of failure and accepted his new fate. He supposed he upset the Goddess by breaking the tradition the night before his world came crashing down. He winced as his ears rang with the ghost of the gunshot. There had been so much blood. Scarlet life force pooling around his one true love. In that moment he thought he was going to lose him forever.

He remembered his curiosity and astonishment when he first witnessed one of Kyungsoo’s dreams of him, many years after he had passed. He tried so hard to enter them just so he could be with “dream” Kyungsoo. He had been so alone floating in this constricting abyss, this world between worlds. He had grown accustomed to his solitude, but that did not mean he enjoyed it. He found himself closing his eyes, even though there was no difference in the darkness, just to relive those precious memories with Kyungsoo. After years, or what felt like years, of reliving them from every point of view he could think of, he began to fantasize about how his life could have turned out if they were never caught. He created this alternate universe where he was able to continue living with Kyungsoo in the village. He had dubbed Kyungsoo the new oracle and they lived happily in the turret. They went about their daily lives and both of them were extremely busy by day. Kai had his constant duties as Zipa and Kyungsoo was being trained in the ways of worship and the rites and rituals of the Oracle.

While their days were hectic, their nights were a much welcomed bliss. They laughed and played and told stories to one another. They told each other their frustrations in their new roles and helped each other sort through their troublesome feelings. They would talk late into the night until their conversations faded into drops of sweat, hastened breaths, and ecstasy. Kai ached to feel Kyungsoo’s touch once more. The dreams he visited satiated his need momentarily but it was nothing compared to actually feeling the warmth of his skin against his or the heat of their mingling breaths.

The day he found out he could enter one of Kyungsoo’s dreams he was overwhelmed with excitement as he transcended the barriers that kept him in limbo. He had so much he wanted to tell him, but the second he saw him his mind went blank and his emotions took over. He wanted to tell him everything he had experienced from his paradise to his purgatory, but none of that escaped his lips. He kept it to himself if only to forget that he no longer walked in the living world. He wanted a moment of life even if it was only in the realms of dreams. Those few minutes he had with him were worth eons of time left recuperating in the darkness. Leaving the abyss proved to be quite taxing of his already low stores of energy  and whenever he was nearing his limit he could feel the icy tendrils pull him back. He hated the feeling of going back. He left the vivid and warm dreams of Kyungsoo and was left in a void freezing darkness. He remembered weeping as he watched Kyungsoo cry silently against the tree when he was forced to leave. His own cries echoed distortedly and left him chilled to the bone. He never knew if he was alone there but all he could do was hope.

He remembered feeling a twinge of jealously when Kyungsoo mentioned Jongin and he remembered feeling as though he had been slapped in the face when he accidently called him by that name. A part of him was happy that Kyungsoo had begun the healing process of moving on, but the rest of him could not help but feel somewhat betrayed. He could not blame Kyungsoo though, so he was mostly left with a bittersweet taste in his mouth each time he thought of him. It hurt him to think that Kyungsoo would forget him as his memory was filled with new ones of Jongin. So he selfishly visited Kyungsoo as often as he could without even considering the pain it caused him.

He soon discovered that his visits were limited to the amount of energy he was able to regain and whether or not Kyungsoo left the connection between the two of them open. It frightened him to find out that the connection was getting weaker with each passing moment spent with Jongin. He did not want to remained trapped in this abyss for all eternity. His last successful attempt left him feeling extremely weak and it ended poorly. It was the only one where he voluntarily left. He had expended more energy than the previous just to wiggle through the weakening connection only to discover he no longer occupied first place in Kyungsoo’s heart. He practically welcomed the deafening silence and pressure of the abyss. He would rather feel discomfort than the blossoming pain that wreaked havoc on his heart.

He briefly wondered if he had held on a little longer on the ship if he and Kyungsoo would still be together. He wondered if he had never left that stupid note if Kyungsoo would still hold him above all in his heart. He knew his time of being first was up and he settled with only occupying just a corner of his heart. A distant, past love. Yet, he still wished, rather selfishly, that Jongin had never walked into Kyungsoo’s life, just so he could have him to himself. He knew it was childish and unfair to Kyungsoo, but he could not stop these feelings from developing.

He twisted slowly in the darkness, his breath coming out faster and shallower and pushed sluggishly towards the door that opened to Kyungsoo’s dreams. He knew he was not asleep, but he would wait for him. He was determined to see him one last time even if he expended all of his remaining strength. He was not sure of what was after the afterlife, but he figured that one last glance would be worth losing himself to the abyss.

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo opened his eyes and blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the light that was filtering through the curtains. He ached all over and had to force himself to untangle himself from Jongin. He slid out of bed one leg at a time. There were smudges of dried blood on his inner thighs and the back of his shoulders. He vaguely remembered being bitten on his shoulders as his face was pressed into the pillows that muffled his screams of pleasure. He remembered catching a glimpse of Jongin throwing his head back as a sound somewhere between a moan and a whine escaped his blood stained lips. Tiny finger sized bruises flowered on his skin. Jongin had gripped him a little too roughly last night as their moans increased in both frequency and volume.

He rolled his head to stretch his neck and winced, he was so sore. He wobbled slightly as he took unsteady steps towards the mirror. His head hurt slightly and he could hear his heart beating loudly in his ears. He supposed it was side effects from the blood loss and dismissed it. He squinted into the mirror and pinched his cheeks. He looked quite pale and there were small bags under his eyes. He glanced back at Jongin’s sleeping figure half exposed from the sheets and smiled. Jongin was practically glowing, even in his sleep. He made a small noncommittal sound and rolled over, causing Kyungsoo to chuckle to himself.

His smiled faded once he glanced back to the mirror and noticed Jongin’s lack of a reflection. He turned back to look at him and then back to the mirror and bit his lip. _‘How did I not notice this?’_ He thought to himself and scratched his head. He thought back to all of the red flags that should have set him off about Jongin’s condition that he either dismissed or simply did not notice. He laughed nervously to himself and ran his fingers through his hair. He had been so blinded by his budding love for Jongin and his quest to find the similarities between him and Kai that any differences there were he pushed out of his mind. He frowned as Kai entered his mind and a pang of guilt reverberated through him. All this time he had been denying Kai’s protests about him not being Jongin. Now that he knew the truth, that Jongin could not possibly be Kai since he was alive before either of them were, he felt stupid. He was so adamant about Kai being Jongin that he never even tried to hear Kai out. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. He was so sleepy and felt extremely weak.

He caught a glimpse of the bite marks on his wrist and sudden realization  coursed through him. The bite marks looked just like the people in that house. His hands began trembling as he looked up at Jongin who had just sat up and was rubbing his bleary eyes. Kyungsoo stared at him and then narrowed his eyes. “Did you kill all those people?”

Jongin stiffened, “What people?”

“The ones in the house that were found a while ago.”

Jongin scratched his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so?” Kyungsoo frowned.

“I honestly don’t know which people you’re talking about.” Jongin bit his lip.

The relief that started to fall over him stopped abruptly. He felt his pulse quicken. “Have you killed people?”

Jongin refused to meet his gaze and he fiddled with the sheets in his hands.

Kyungsoo crossed his arms as he tried to look less unnerved than he was feeling. “Well, have you?”

“Yes.” Jongin muttered. He was still staring at the sheet in his hands and he looked like a chastised child.

Kyungsoo froze, he was hoping he would not say yes. He gnawed on his lip and then slowly made his way over to Jongin and sat down next to him. “How many?”

“I don’t know. Too many to count.” Jongin must have heard Kyungsoo’s sharp intake of breath, because he then pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face. “I’m a murderer.”

Kyungsoo winced. He was not sure what to say to console him. He reached out and grabbed his hand and squeezed it weakly. “I still love you.”

Jongin jerked his head up and examined Kyungsoo’s face with pleading eyes. He reached out and gingerly cupped his face. “Thank you.” He bit his lip. “Next time I’ll try to control myself more. I knew I took too much blood earlier.”

Kyungsoo pulled away. “What do you mean?”

“You look exhausted.”

“Yeah but you didn’t just drink my blood…” He felt his face warming and he smiled shyly.

Jongin blushed. “Still, I shouldn’t take so much from you unless you want me to change you?”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “Not yet.”

Jongin’s face fell and he looked at Kyungsoo’s hand that was still grasping his. “Okay.” His voice wavered slightly when he said that and Kyungsoo was not sure if he was holding back tears because when he looked back up at him, his eyes were bright and cheery.

“I’m still thinking about it.” Kyungsoo reassured him and pulled his hand away. He stood up a little too quickly and swayed. Jongin’s arms wrapped around him and kept him from falling over. His chest was pressed against Kyungsoo’s back. Kyungsoo could feel his chest rise and fall as he breathed. He blinked his eyes hard a few times to clear the dots that were filling his vision. “Sorry.” He mumbled.

Jongin turned him around to face him and pulled him into a hug. “Don’t be. It’s my fault.”

“Well, if I hadn’t prompted you this would not have happened.” Kyungsoo said, his voice muffled against Jongin’s chest.

Jongin smiled and buried his nose in Kyungsoo’s hair. “I love you.”

 

~*~

 

The sun had set and Suho called for a meeting of the EXO clan in the foyer. He and Kris stood in front of the fireplace  that had never been used. He scanned everyone faces before he began. “I think you know why I have called you all here.” He waited for them to all respond by nodding and then added. “There has been a rather unfortunate turn of events for one particular member of the clan.” Whispers filled the room and then they all broke into frenzied conversations. Suho raised his hand and they fell silent. “You all know the rules here. There are consequences that follow if you happen to break them.” He sighed. “I had hoped it would never come to this but, it is time we issue these consequences on the one who dared to defy me.” He glanced at Kris, who nodded and then pursed his lips. “By tomorrow night there will be one less member of the clan.” He watched all their faces change and then turned around to stare into the fireplace. He shook his head and then motioned for Jino to follow him. He figured this would be a great example from which Jino could benefit from.

~*~

 

Jongin waited impatiently for Kyungsoo to finish getting dressed. He only had about one more day until he would have to kill Kyungsoo. He had hoped he would have finally agreed to being changed but seeing as he still had not, he was quite frustrated and even more so worried. He got up and paced around the table. There was a loud thump from the direction of their room and Jongin sprinted there in half a second. He scanned the room quickly looking for Kyungsoo. “Hey, are you in here?”

“Help me.” Kyungsoo’s voice came from the closet.

Jongin opened the doors and rolled his eyes in amusement. Kyungsoo had somehow managed to knock himself to his butt beneath an armful of clothing. “What are you doing?”

Kyungsoo glared up at Jongin who was laughing, “I was trying to get this overcoat from the back but I couldn’t reach it so I tried to push these clothes out of the way but they all came off their hangers and I had to hold all of them. And I still feel a little weak so it was too much for me…”

Jongin laughed even more. He was still concerned for Kyungsoo, but the sight of him buried under various shirts and overcoats was so comical that it made his concern take the back seat. He reached down and pulled Kyungsoo up. When he winced and held his shoulder, Jongin’s smile faded. “Did I really take that much blood?”

Kyungsoo rubbed his arm and shook his head. “I don’t know, but I do have some bruises on my shoulders from your bites.”

Jongin frowned and tugged Kyungsoo’s collar down, his eyes bugged. “Why didn’t you say something to me?”

Kyungsoo gave Jongin a dubious look. “I think I was a little too preoccupied to realize that you were being too rough.”

Jongin’s frown deepened. “Next time say something. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Kyungsoo waved his hand in dismissal. “I’m fine.”

Jongin shook his head and turned Kyungsoo to face him. “No, I want you to tell me if I’m hurting you, okay?”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “I’ll try to remember that while I’m busy shouting your name.”

Jongin blinked. He suddenly felt a little too warm and too close to Kyungsoo. He felt his face flush. “Sorry, I’m just worried for your wellbeing. I have never been in this type of situation where I had to watch my blood intake.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m a little more used to just draining my victims.”

Kyungsoo shot him a quick smile and then pulled his overcoat on. “Right.”

Jongin ran his fingers through his hair. There was a small patch of Kyungsoo’s skin still visible on his neck and the urge to bite him was overwhelming. He cleared his throat and tugged at the collar of his own dress shirt. They were going to a small gala that was being held in one of the mansions nearby. Apparently Kyungsoo was invited while he was out at the market looking for some fresh produce for himself. He had already stopped cooking for Jongin, and a small part of him missed eating the human food even if it made him sick. It was a masquerade and Jongin was worried that there would be some guests that he had no intentions of seeing anytime soon.

He watched as Kyungsoo bent over to grab his bag off the floor and rummage through it to find their masks. His ears picked up the erratic beating of Kyungsoo’s heart and he felt his fangs  descend. He cleared his throat once more and tried to force them to recede. Kyungsoo made a sound of accomplishment when he found them and handed Jongin his mask after he put his own on.

Jongin stared at him. The mask had black feathers sprouting from the top and was made out of some type of black stone. Silver trimming with swirls cut into it lined the edge of the mask. There were little red jewels that lined the eye holes and traveled down the side of the nose. The thin obsidian stone had various swirling designs carved into it and it stopped just short of Kyungsoo’s lips. Jongin bit his lip and averted his eyes. Kyungsoo smiled. “Do you like it?”

Jongin could not help but stare at his lips as he said this. He tugged at his sleeves and nodded switching his gaze from Kyungsoo’s eyes and his lips. Kyungsoo wet his lips absentmindedly and Jongin suppressed a whine. The heat traveled from his face down to just below his waistband. He reached for his mask and held it over his crotch. Kyungsoo eyes questioned him, but Jongin smiled awkwardly and walked out the door, holding the mask in place.

He opened the front door and let the cold air wash over him. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and gulped in the air. He glanced down at the mask in his other hand and brought it closer to inspect it as the heat vanished. His mask was almost the complete opposite of Kyungsoo’s. There were white feathers instead of black. Ivory instead of obsidian, gold instead of silver, and a deep blue instead of red. He brought it to his face and tied the leather strings. It obstructed his view a little on the sides and the bridge of the nose pressed awkwardly into his skin, but other than that it was fine.

He turned to face Kyungsoo when he tapped his shoulder signaling him it was time to leave. “You look great! It really accentuates your lips.”

Jongin smirked and kept his gaze straight ahead. “Thank you, you look good too.”

“I know.” He grabbed Jongin’s arm lightly.

“Wow, such modesty.” Jongin rolled his eyes.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice your reaction, Jongin. If you want I can wear the mask more often.” He raised his eyebrow suggestively.

Jongin cleared his throat. “Of course.” He paused. “Um, that’s not why I uh…” he trailed off.

“What?” Kyungsoo bumped his shoulder against Jongin’s arm.

“I really need to feed. I think that’s why I took so much from you last night.” Jongin turned to look at Kyungsoo. The wind picked up and the scent of Kyungsoo filled his nostrils. Suddenly he was feeling warm again.

Kyungsoo pulled back his sleeve and raised his wrist to Jongin’s mouth. “Here.”

Jongin pushed his arm away. “No. I need to _feed_. As in drain someone dry.”

“Oh.” Kyungsoo tugged his sleeve back down and blushed slightly. “Do other people feel the same way when you bite them?”

Jongin shook his head. “No. It all has to do with the intentions behind the bite. If I intend to kill, then they either feel slight pain or excruciating pain. I have no intentions of killing you, in fact I want you to enjoy being bitten so different endorphins are released when I bite you. I enjoy it just as much, if not more, when I bite you.”

“Good.” Kyungsoo whispered. He glanced up at Jongin sheepishly when he realized he said that aloud.

Jongin smiled, his thirst was still there, but it was less of a problem now that the wind had changed directions. “Don’t worry, you are my first and only human I’ve ever done this with.”

“Really?” Kyungsoo beamed, he was still lagging behind Jongin and he was breathing heavier than normal.

Jongin nodded and then frowned. “If you’re not feeling well, we can go back to the house.”

Kyungsoo stiffened. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? I’ll carry you back.” Jongin did not want any harm coming to him and the fact that he left him feeling so weak worried him.

“I’m fine.” His voice had a hint of annoyance in it.

“Alright.” Jongin glanced at Kyungsoo every so often as they walked to the gala. They traveled in tense silence as Kyungsoo bristled next to him. Jongin knew he must have been quite obnoxious today, but it was all out of his concern for him.

They arrived at the mansion just as another larger party joined them. Jongin tensed. He knew their presence. It felt all too familiar. He glanced back at them and made eye contact with the one he suspected was Tao and quickly turned forwards again. He leaned over and hissed in Kyungsoo’s ear. “Listen, we have to go.”

Kyungsoo opened his mouth in protest, but Jongin covered his mouth. “We have to leave now.”

“Jongin!” Tao cried out.

Jongin sighed in exasperation and turned around slowly, draping his arm protectively over Kyungsoo. “What?”

Tao’s mask was exuberant. It was scarlet colored with gold accents. There were dozens of crystalized spikes that glittered in the moonlight that framed his face. The gold accents were cut in jagged tendrils that cut through the scarlet face piece. Several crooked red spikes were erupting from the top of the mask and it over all looked quite frightening. His mask was not a half one like the ones Kyungsoo had bought, and it covered his entire face. “That’s no way to greet family.”

Hearing his voice but not seeing his lips move unnerved Jongin. He glanced around as the rest of the EXO clan except for Suho and Jino, surrounded him. Kyungsoo tugged his sleeve and mouthed the word ‘family’ in curiosity. Jongin gave him a look that said ‘not now’, and forced a smile on his face. “Hello.”

Tao slung his arm around Jongin and laughed. “Better. So what brings you here?”

Jongin could feel Kris’s icy glare from behind the dark purple counterpart to Tao’s mask. He glanced down at Kyungsoo and then back at everyone else. They all had matching pairs of masks. Sehun and Luhan had intricate gold and silver masked dripping in emerald and sapphire gem stones. Baekhyun and Chanyeol had rather outrageous masks with long elephant noses attached to theirs, no doubt Chanyeol’s idea. Chen and Xiumin had simple ivory and onyx colored masks with small dark gems lining the edges. Jino’s mask, he guessed matched Suho’s, but seeing as he was not there, he looked a little out of place. His was a delicate looking rose gold trimmed green mask. There were black feathers that looked almost blue in the lighting that lined the edges of his mask.

Kyungsoo smiled “I was invited by the owner of this mansion for a special celebration. I decided to bring Jongin as my date.”

Jino stared at him. “So you must be the infamous Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo frowned and glanced up at Jongin momentarily. “I don’t know about infamous…but I am Do Kyungsoo.”

Sehun gazed at him uninterested and whispered something into Luhan’s ear which made him laugh.

Jongin shrugged out of Tao’s grip and pulled Kyungsoo closer to him. “We are actually just leaving.”

Kyungsoo frowned. “But that’s rude. We should at least go in and let him know we cannot stay.”

Jongin pursed his lips. “We are leaving, Kyungsoo.” He tried to pull him with him, but he ducked from under his arm and went to stand with the rest of the EXO clan.

“If you’re leaving, then I’ll just stay with them. I think I met one of them before and if they’re your family then you should be okay with that.” Kyungsoo said.

“No!” Jongin shouted louder than he intended to. “Fine I’ll stay.” He grabbed Kyungsoo’s hand and glared at everyone else. “But stay close to me.”

Kyungsoo pulled his hand out of Jongin’s and gave him a weird look. “Why are you being like this?”

Jongin sighed and picked Kyungsoo up and threw him over his shoulders and brought him to the side of the house. Kyungsoo yelped in surprise and pushed Jongin back. “What is your problem?” He screeched.

Jongin covered Kyungsoo’s mouth and glanced around. “Shh!” He waited until Kyungsoo calmed down. He could still hear his heart beating rapidly, but there was a slight flush to his cheeks, so he could possibly be recovering from all the blood loss. He removed his hand slowly and waited for Kyungsoo to respond.

“Okay, tell me what’s going on.” Kyungsoo whispered.

Jongin leaned over Kyungsoo and accidently brushed his lips against his ear. “All of them are like me.”

Kyungsoo shivered and his eyes closed involuntarily. His voice came out breathy and warm against Jongin’s cheek. “What do you mean?”

Jongin licked his lips and swallowed. “They are the same as me.”

Kyungsoo’s hand slid up Jongin’s chest and he pulled him closer against him. “You mean they’re vampires?”

Jongin shuddered at Kyungsoo’s touch and pulled back so he could look at him. He gasped slightly as he looked at him. He was beautifully flushed and his full lips were parted slightly. His eyes were half opened and he gazed up at Jongin through his lashes. Jongin nodded his head and ran his tongue over his lips to wet them.

Kyungsoo smiled lazily and pulled Jongin into a kiss. He slid his tongue into his mouth and gripped Jongin’s coat in his fist. A moan rumbled from the back of his throat and his other hand grabbed Jongin’s waistband and pulled him even closer. He nibbled on Jongin’s lip playfully and then his kisses traveled away from his lips and down his jaw, to his neck.

Jongin groaned and tried to unbutton Kyungsoo’s overcoat with one hand while the other pressed into the small of Kyungsoo’s back. His breath came out in quick bursts and he pressed Kyungsoo up against the wall of the mansion and drove his thigh in between Kyungsoo’s legs. Kyungsoo let out a little whine and let his fingers dip just below Jongin’s waistband, brushing lightly against his skin. Jongin’s fangs descended and his teeth grazed over Kyungsoo’s newly exposed neck. Kyungsoo quivered against him, grinding his hips into Jongin’s. His hand slid further down and Jongin threw his head back and let out another lustful moan. He lowered Kyungsoo to his feet, and nipped lightly at his neck. He did not break the skin for fear that he would not be able to stop once he got a tiny taste of Kyungsoo’s blood. Kyungsoo gasped as Jongin’s hands tugged his pants down to his knees. Jongin spun him around and pressed him against the wall, sucking harshly on his neck. He dropped his own pants to his ankles and slowly pushed into Kyungsoo, all while letting out a feverish groan. Kyungsoo’s voice went up several octaves and his breathing sped up. His face was rubbing against the rough stone wall, but he did not care.

“Oh! I’ll just come back later!” Tao’s voice disrupted the moment. He looked as if his face would have been bright red as he averted his eyes to the ground at his feet. He briskly turned around and called back over his shoulder. “Carry on.”

Jongin quickly pulled up his pants and grumbled. He was aching and unsatisfied. Kyungsoo adjusted his overcoat and mask which had been shoved askew. He shimmied into his pants and looked up at Jongin with a bright red face. “Well, that was embarrassing.”

Jongin sighed. “Yeah. Let’s go so we can get back to where we left off.”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “No, we have to go in.”

Jongin looked down, “Well we can’t go in like this.”

“What do you mean?” Kyungsoo followed Jongin’s gaze. “Oh." He glanced back up at Jongin.  "Well, then.”

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo gaped as he took in his surroundings. The inside of the mansion was beautiful. It was modeled after the gaudy gothic architecture used in abundance about three centuries ago. The ceilings were extremely high and large crystalline chandeliers hung from the ceiling with tiny candles lit. It almost looked as if the flames were floating freely as their light reflected off the crystal. Deep purple swaths of cloth were draped over the tops of the high arched windows and gold embellishments donned the curtains. The walls had various portraits of what seemed like one man, on them.

Kyungsoo stepped closer to examine the portraits, and he scratched his head at the familiarity of the red haired man. He turned to Jongin and gestured to the portrait. “Doesn’t he look familiar?”

Jongin’s eyes grew large and filled with panic. He grabbed Kyungsoo’s shoulders roughly. “What did the man that invited you look like?”

Kyungsoo winced. “He looked kind of like that guy.” He pointed to the portrait at the end of the hall.

“That’s it! We’re leaving!” Jongin hissed and yanked Kyungsoo behind him.

Kyungsoo planted his feet and pulled out of Jongin’s grip. He glared at him and bit back a chuckle when he noticed a twig in his hair. “No.” He reached up to pull out the twig but, Jongin grabbed his wrist again and tugged, but Kyungsoo remained rooted to his spot. He was feeling much better than earlier. Not as tired or weak. He was a little sore, but that was for different reasons.

Jongin’s eyes flashed. “Come on!”

“I said no!” Kyungsoo turned and started walking down the hall towards the main room where everyone was milling around.

Jongin ran after him and pulled him behind a statue where he pinned him against the wall. Kyungsoo squirmed. “Not now, Jongin.”

Jongin rolled his eyes behind his mask. “No, I know that. But, this house _apparently_ belongs to someone rather dangerous.”

“He seemed nice to me.” He pushed Jongin roughly and started walking again.

Jongin grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. “Please listen to me. It’s not safe for you here.”

“Not safe for who?” Suho’s voice came from behind Jongin.

Kyungsoo smiled politely. “Thank you for inviting me, sir.” He gestured to Jongin. “This ball of nerves over here is my date, Jongin.”

“I know.” Suho smiled.

“Oh, you do? How so?” Kyungsoo asked. He was genuinely curious as to how Jongin already knew the man, when he just moved to this mansion the day before.

“I’m his father, of sorts.” Suho’s smile turned menacing.                                                                              

Kyungsoo looked from Jongin to Suho several times and then it dawned on him. “Oh, you mean father, not _father_.”

Suho’s smile faltered. “So you know what he is?”

Kyungsoo smiled. “Yes.”

Jongin groaned and wiped his hand down his face. “Okay, you said ‘Hi’, now let’s leave.”

Kyungsoo ignored him. “Has he always been this demanding?”

Suho’s eyes flashed but then returned to their usual politeness. “Oh, yes. He can be quite the _rebel_ sometimes.”

Jongin suddenly put his arm around Kyungsoo protectively, but he shrugged out of it. “This house is beautiful!”

Suho glanced around and chuckled. “Would you like a tour?”

“No, we are just about to leav–”

Kyungsoo held his hand up in front of Jongin’s face to silence him. “I’d love one!” Suho watched the exchange with a guarded expression. Kyungsoo turned to Jongin, “Go put on your mask and have fun.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with him.” Jongin stated as he glared at Suho.

“You know what? Just go home. I’ll be there after the tour.” He turned away and followed Suho down the hall. He was getting quite annoyed with Jongin tonight and he could not figure out why he was so quick to anger.

Jongin ignored his request and followed behind Kyungsoo and Suho silently like a specter. Kyungsoo sighed and shook his head. He held his mask in his hand so that he could see better and nodded as Suho explained what each artifact was and where it came from. Jongin bristled behind them, softly cursing beneath his breath.

“Since you know that we’re vampires, have you thought of being changed?” Suho asked making small talk.

“Actually Jongin offered to change me. I said no, though. It’s not that I don’t want to be one, it’s just I’m not sure if I’d like it.”

“You mean, you’re afraid?” Suho offered.

Kyungsoo bit his lip. “I guess you could say that.”

“Why are you afraid?” Suho opened another door and led them into the library.

“I’m afraid it won’t work. Or that something will go wrong.”

“There is nothing that could go wrong, Mr. Do.” He paused and glanced at Jongin. There was a hidden message in the look he gave him. “I’ve trained him well.”

 “I’ll think about it.” Kyungsoo replied. “Maybe in a year or so. I don’t know, I want to be human for a while longer. There are things that I enjoy about the dynamic between us.” He felt his cheeks grow warm.

Suho smiled thinly, a look of knowing in his eyes. “But there’s even more that you can do once you’ve been changed. Of _that_ nature and of a feeding nature.” He stared at Jongin as he said this and Jongin eyed him suspiciously. “Did you know that when two vampires feed from the same person, it’s supposed to be the greatest experience in the world?”

Kyungsoo opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it as he thought over his response. Instead his ears turned red, “No.” He was not too pleased that Suho seemed to think of him as merely Jongin’s lover. He was expecting a much more dignified response.

Suho chuckled. “I see you have an idea of what type of experience I’m speaking of.”

Jongin glared at him and stepped closer to Kyungsoo. He leaned over and whispered, “Please can we leave now?”

Kyungsoo ducked away from Jongin to put some distance between the two of them. He wanted Suho to respect him. He figured that he must have seen them on the side of the house. They were not necessarily hidden too well, so anyone could of seen them and more likely heard them.  He turned and addressed Suho. “Yes, I know what you are talking about. I can only imagine what it must feel like. It intrigues me.” He stared at the empty fireplace. He liked the prospect of being able to share something private with Jongin like that, but he was still unsure about being changed. He did not want to lose his humanity. It was the one thing that scared him the most. He had noticed how inhuman the EXO clan came across to him and he remembered how strange he found Jongin when he first met him. He knew that he brought back some of Jongin’s humanity, if not all of it, but he still saw flashes of his old self from time to time and that frightened him.

As if he heard his thoughts Suho piped in. “You do not have to lose your humanity, if that is what you’re thinking of.”

Kyungsoo jumped and glanced at Jongin who shrugged. He felt as though the privacy of his mind had been invaded. He did not like the look that Suho gave him. A look of judgment. A look of distaste. And once again, a look of knowing. His eyes pierced through him as if he were looking at his soul. It made him uncomfortable and he was too nervous to respond accordingly. “Okay.” He mumbled, not really answering his question. There was a certain darkness in Suho’s gaze that made him want to keep secrets from him. He could understand why Jongin left.

He stared at his feet and then glanced at Jongin. If he could remain more or less the same, he would be happy. He just did not want to turn into a monster. Not that Jongin was a monster. Clearly he had his past, but his present was much more human in a way.

They remained silent as the rest of the tour went underway, with Suho speaking only to introduce each room. Kyungsoo slowed down to walk with Jongin. He brushed the back of his hand against his and smiled when Jongin grabbed it and gave it a light squeeze. He glanced up at him with pleading eyes saying he was sorry for being so prickly today and Jongin half smiled and squeezed his hand again.

Jongin released his hand and looped his arm around Kyungsoo’s waist and pulled him closer to him. He leaned down and kissed his hair gingerly. Kyungsoo grinned brightly and put his arm around Jongin as well.

Suho’s shoulders tense as he witnessed this from the corner of his eye and he stopped abruptly. “That’s all. The tour is over.”

Jongin lightly pinched Kyungsoo’s hip. “Come on let’s go and mingle with the guests.”

Kyungsoo wriggled out of Jongin’s arm and looked up at him in surprise. “I thought you wanted to go home.”

“Home can wait. I know you wanted to actually speak to some people here.” Jongin smiled.

“Oh okay then.” Kyungsoo smiled. “Let’s go then.” He pulled his mask back on and watched as Jongin did the same. He held his hand out for Jongin to grab and they started to walk away.

“Wait. I need to speak to Jongin.” Suho said.

Kyungsoo shrugged. “I’ll be out here waiting for you.” He waited patiently for Jongin to return and watched as people filed in wearing all sorts of crazy masks. He scanned their faces for any sign of recognition but the majority had an inhuman gait about them. They glided effortlessly as if their feet barely touched the ground. There was a predatory glint in each of their eyes and every time Kyungsoo met their gaze a shiver ran down his spine.

Suddenly there were shouts coming from the room and Kyungsoo looked back worried. He recognized Jongin’s voice as he was shouting the most and the soft drone of Suho as he responded with an icy calm.

Just then Tao came around the corner. “Kyungsoo!” he jogged over to Kyungsoo and pushed his mask up on top of his head.

Kyungsoo shied away for a second as Tao’s face was revealed. His eyes were so intense, almost to the point where he looked frightening. But after the initial shock, Kyungsoo smiled. “Hello, uh”

“Oh, my name is, Tao.” He smiled.

Kyungsoo nodded. “Right, hello Tao.” He glanced back at the door and Tao’s gaze followed his.

He tilted his head towards the door and listened. “I guess I should be calling you brother from now on.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Kyungsoo gaped at him.

“You’ll find out.” He smiled.

Kyungsoo was about to ask him to be more specific when  Jongin burst through the doors, his mask in his hand and his eyes glowing red. He threw his hands in the air and whipped around and glared at Suho. “I will do as I damn well please!” He yelled one final time and stomped over to Kyungsoo and grabbed his arm roughly. The people in the hallway stopped and watched curiously. Whispers filled the hallway and one person yelled out a weak, “Fight!” Jongin glared at him with his fangs still visible and hissed under his breath. Suho casted the culprit a cursory glance in his direction, his eyes practically spitting flames.

He loosened his grip and leaned down to whisper in his ear, “We are leaving.”

Kyungsoo glanced back at Tao and called out to him. “Nice meeting you! I hope to see you soon.”

Tao smiled brightly and shouted back. “Jongin, you have a twig in your hair!”

Jongin pulled him faster behind him as he stormed out of the mansion. “We are not going back to that mansion.” He ran his fingers through his hair and tossed the twig behind him.

“Wait, why?” Kyungsoo asked. He was completely thrown off. He could not understand how Jongin got so angry all of a sudden.

“Because Suho is being ridiculous.”

Kyungsoo bit his lip as he half jogged to keep up with Jongin’s long strides. He stopped and smiled.

Jongin turned back and sighed. “What now?”

“Carry me.” Kyungsoo chirped.

“Why?”

“You offered it earlier so now I’m taking you up on that offer.”

Jongin rolled his eyes. “I offered that earlier when you weren’t looking so well.”

“Oh.” Kyungsoo looked at the ground. Jongin knelt on the ground before him and Kyungsoo climbed on his back. He nuzzled Jongin’s neck happily. “Even though tonight did not turn out how I envisioned it, I still enjoyed myself.”

Jongin turned to look at Kyungsoo from the corner of his eye. “Is that so?” He jumped slightly to readjust Kyungsoo on his back.

“Yes.”

Jongin laughed bitterly. “Yeah, well get ready to have your night ruined.”

 

~*~

 

Suho paced the room. He knocked all the trinkets off the table angrily and gritted his teeth. He slammed his fist down on the granite surface and cracked it. _‘This is not supposed to be happening! He was not supposed to accept Jongin like that.’_ He frowned and continued pacing. _‘All he is, is a little slave. How could he let that human control him like that?’_ Suho ripped the door off its hinges and stormed out into the main room where everyone was mingling. He scanned the crowd, looking for Kris, when he found him he gave him a look and beckoned with his head to follow him.

Kris slowly opened the broken door and peeked his head in. “Suho?”

Suho glanced at him and began to pace once more. “We have to kill him.”

“What do you mean?” Kris narrowed his eyes.

“That _human_ has got to be dealt with.” Suho yelled. He was losing his control. He never lost his temper this bad. He could feel his head begin to throb.

“He seems fine to me. Just let him be, Jongin will come around eventually.” Kris offered. “Besides, everyone seems to like him. He brought Jongin out of his shell, you should be happy.”

“He made him soft. Jongin has hardly come back to see us. He’s been holed up in his play thing’s house doing God knows what.”

“The kid has hormones. He’s going to experiment.” Kris shrugged.

“The _kid_ was one of my best vampires. He has so much potential. I almost had it perfected down to a science.” Suho hissed.

“What about Jino? He’s the same, if not better than Jongin.”

“Jino is temporary, a stand in. He’s here as a place holder.”

“But he’s perfect. He’s ruthless and hardly needed any training. Just let Jongin do what he wants for now.”

“He defied me.”

“And?”

“He has to suffer the repercussions.”

“Killing the human will not make him come back.”

“He won’t have a choice but to.”

Kris stood up. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I do not agree with you.”

Suho’s eyes flashed dangerously. “You don’t have to.”

Kris walked towards the doorway. “Whatever, just leave me out of it. I do not want to be caught in the havoc Jongin will wreak when you take his _toy_.”

“Some _toy_ that human is.” Suho paused. “You know he wants to change him."

Kris froze. “He wouldn’t want that.”

Suho grabbed Kris’s arm and turned him around to face him. “That’s the thing he wants to be changed.”

Kris tensed and his eyes searched Suho’s face for signs of deceit. “How do you know?”

Suho sighed and rubbed his temples. “He said that he would not mind being changed in a year or two.”

“That can’t be!” Kris’s eyes widened and he gasped. “The last voluntary change we had….”

Suho frowned. “I know…”

 

~*~

 


	9. The Storm

Jongin sighed as Kyungsoo drifted off into a fitful sleep on his back as they walked back to the house. He was still reeling from his conversation with Suho. He could not believe that after all the turmoil he went through, Suho forbade him from turning Kyungsoo. He kicked a rock into the grass lining the road and hopped a little as he shifted Kyungsoo up on his back. Kyungsoo murmured something unintelligible in his sleep and tightened his grip around Jongin’s shoulders. Jongin smiled absentmindedly and then scowled. He was going to turn Kyungsoo whether Suho approved or not. However, he was nervous about turning him against his will.

He went through various scenarios in his head of him turning Kyungsoo tonight so that when Suho came for them tomorrow night, there would be nothing for him to object to. But each time he thought through it, he kept ending it tragically. Kyungsoo would either freak out and kill himself, or worse, he would wake up a mindless, soulless monster and rip his throat out. In every situation, the outcome was pure torment. He chalked it up to him being a first time changer but deep down he knew there was another reason why every scenario turned out so badly in his mind.

They arrived shortly after and Jongin laid Kyungsoo down on the bed. He sat on the edge, his head in his hands and wracked his brain. He had to convince Kyungsoo tonight or else there would be tragedy. His mind wandered to countless fantasies in his mind of him and Kyungsoo leaving town and traveling across the Atlantic to whatever was waiting for them in the New World. He frowned as he thought of the horrible memories that Kyungsoo would be forced to deal with if they travelled there. He shook his head trying to think of another option when he noticed a small compass painted on a map of Eastern Europe that was hanging on the wall. What if they went north? They could travel to the New World with the English explorers set to leave the port by next week on their expedition. They would be the first to reach that part of the New World and explore it. Maybe, just maybe that would work.

Jongin sprang to his feet and began shoving clothing into whatever bags and boxes he could find and woke up Kyungsoo in the process of his scurrying about.

Kyungsoo yawned and rubbed his eyes, “What are you doing?”

“We have to leave the continent.” Jongin responded while shoving a pair of shoes into an unused pillow case.

“What?” Kyungsoo gaped at him, suddenly alert.

“We have to leave the continent.” Jongin repeated as he dumped the contents of one of Kyungsoo’s drawers into a small box which he quickly closed and stacked on top of four other boxes by the door.

“I heard you the first time, but what do you mean by that?”

“Suho will be coming by tomorrow and if we’re not gone by then,” He paused and shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Okay and that’s supposed to worry me? So what if your maker comes by tomorrow!” Kyungsoo threw his arms up in the air. “There’s no need to pack up and leave.”

“There is when your life is on the line.” Jongin pulled all of Kyungsoo’s overcoats out of the closet and dumped them in another box.

“My life?” Kyungsoo frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“He’s going to kill you.”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t.”

Kyungsoo grabbed Jongin’s arm and turned him to face him. His eyes flicking back and forth as he peered into Jongin’s gaze. “What are you saying?”

Jongin sighed and dragged Kyungsoo over to the bed where he sat him down. He kneeled in front of Kyungsoo and put his hands on his thighs and he gazed up at him with pleading eyes. “Please forgive me for what I am about to tell you.”

Kyungsoo frowned. “Jongin, you’re scaring me.”

Jongin stood and glared out at the obscure landscape. “I was sent here to kill you.” When he heard Kyungsoo’s gasp he felt the muscles in his back tighten. “The night I first met you, I was supposed to kill you. I had planned on it, actually. I waited until you were asleep and I was going to kill you that night, but,” He stopped.

“But what?”

“But, you called out Kai’s name in your sleep and it stirred something in me. Something I was sure I no longer possessed. So I went back to Suho and proposed a game with him. I would wait and see how close you could get to proving our existence and then once you got close enough, I would kill you.” He shook his head. “But I did not foresee any of this! I did not see myself falling in love especially not with a human. Soon, I found myself in too deep and I couldn’t back out. I began to wish that I could change you so we could be together forever and then Suho would not feel so threatened by you and would leave me alone.” He inhaled deeply and his grip tightened on the window sill, cracking it slightly. “But he would not back off, not even when I told him I would change you. In fact he kept telling me that you would never want to be changed and that frustrated me. I wanted nothing more than to see you awaken as a vampire, but as time went on, I found myself falling for all your human qualities. I know that I’ll miss them, but I don’t have a choice.”

“What do you mean you don’t have a choice?” Kyungsoo whispered.

“I have to change you. Tonight or we have to leave. I deliberately went against Suho’s wishes and he does not take too kindly to those types of things. In fact, I think I’m the first one to do just that, and he won’t let this go by without some type of punishment.” Jongin turned to look at Kyungsoo. There were tears in his eyes and he blinked them back and hugged himself. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“All of this because of my research?” Kyungsoo said quietly. His voice shook with barely contained anger.

“Well, yes. Suho feels threatened by it. The human population cannot find out about our existence. Think about it, how many people would jump at the opportunity to live forever? Think of how terrible that would be. If you think that the market place is crowded, just think of how it would look in a few centuries as more and more people turn to vampirism to skirt death. And then with so many vampires, there won’t be any humans left to feed on. I know it’s a selfish wish of his, but it makes logical sense.” Jongin watched as Kyungsoo stood up and walked over to his desk and reached in and pulled out a stack of papers and his two travel sized notepads.

Kyungsoo’s eyes flashed wildly and he ripped the stack of papers into tiny shreds. He then grabbed his travel notepads and ripped the pages out of them and scooped up all the shreds and stormed out into the kitchen where he lit the fire. He threw in all the scraps and screamed out into the night at no one and everyone. “Is this what you want? I’ve destroyed it all! All my hard work is gone! I give up! You win! I’ll stop!” his chest rose and fell with each ragged breath he drew. His face was red with fury and angry tears escaped his eyes.

Jongin silently walked over and folded him into a hug. He rubbed circles into his back and nuzzled his hair. “That won’t change things. We have to leave.”

Kyungsoo pulled out of the hug and turned to face the fire as his papers turned to ash and disappeared. “I could have been the one. I could have gone down in history.”

“But you will. For your discoveries in the New World at least.” Jongin offered.

Kyungsoo visibly flinched. “That’s nothing compared to altering mankind as we know it.”

“But it would put you in danger.” Jongin gently touched Kyungsoo’s shoulders, but he shrugged him off. Jongin frowned.

Kyungsoo whipped around and yelled at Jongin. “I was in danger the moment I met you! All of this is your fault!”

Jongin pulled away, a hurt expression on his face. He could not believe how things had escalated so quickly. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be! None of this would have happened if it weren’t for you! All my work! It’s gone because – because…” He trailed off, his yells transforming into sobs.

Jongin stood there watching Kyungsoo as he cried. He did not know how to comfort him. He was not used to being on the receiving end of his anger. Or Kyungsoo’s anger in general. He looked up at him with the expression of a kicked puppy. “Sorry.”

Kyungsoo pushed past him and stomped to the room and slammed the door. Jongin stood in the kitchen for a while longer before he went to the living room where his portrait still was and sat down. He peeked at it through his fingers and sighed. He hoped Kyungsoo would come around eventually. Their time was ticking and that only made him more anxious. He wished there was some other way.

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo flung himself on the bed and bit his lip. He did not like being angry and he especially did not like taking it out on Jongin, who was completely undeserving of it. He felt numbness spread through him. He could not believe that he had to give up what had motivated him for the past seven years. What had kept his mind off of Kai for the past seven years, what had been his crutch during his pain and suffering _for the past seven years_. He mentally punched himself in the gut for acting out so rashly and burning it all. He wondered if he had kept even a piece of what he had put together if it would have made him feel slightly better. He was angry at himself. He knew that if he published any of the work he would not only endanger himself, but Jongin as well and he did not want that in the slightest. Still, he did not want to be changed just yet.

He rolled over and looked at the haphazard boxes and scrunched his nose. He did not want to give up his life here. He had finally gotten his garden the way he wanted it. He finally became a regular at a shop. He felt content here, even if it was infested with vampires. He figured that Jongin could protect him for at least a year before he sucked it up and allowed him to change him. He knew he was being selfish, but he allowed himself to be. Jongin had allowed him to be. He had changed so much since meeting Jongin that he was no longer sure who he really was. Was he Kyungsoo the renowned biologist? Or was he Kyungsoo the vampire’s lover? The latter made him flinch internally. He did not want to be known for being a lowly play thing for a vampire. He wanted fame for his work. He wanted to be respected. However, most of all he wanted to be loved and to love in return. He had found that with Jongin. He had learned how to love again and how to be loved again. He had been through so much pain and grief over Kai’s death that he had even forgotten what it was like to be happy.

He smiled as he remembered the first night Jongin made him laugh. It was when they were at the pond by the clan’s headquarters. Jongin had looked so childish and vulnerable and slightly deranged as he spoke of how he would dump his troubles on the unhearing ears of the fish. There was an innocence about him in that moment. Kyungsoo realized now that that moment was a turning point for them. Jongin began to open up after that and he had begun to heal his old wounds.

He had fallen so hard for Jongin, that he realized that he was wrong. He needed to apologize for yelling at him. He wanted to make everything go back to how it was before the masquerade. He wanted them to be lost in that unending bliss once more. If that meant he had to run away with him back to the New World, he would do that. He would give up his life for Jongin. He would let himself be turned by Jongin, even though he knew he did not want it.

Kyungsoo sat up and stared at the wall. His numbness was receding and it was replaced by guilt. He sighed and shuffled out to the living room where Jongin sat with his head buried in his knees. Kyungsoo cleared his throat and said with a wavering voice, “I’m ready.”

Jongin’s head snapped up. “For what?”                                                                     

Kyungsoo gulped. “To be changed.” He still did not want to be changed, not yet at least. He just wanted this feeling of having to run to leave him. He knew his face gave away his true emotions, but he made up his mind. He was going to let Jongin change him whether he wanted him to or not.

“Are you sure?” Jongin’s eyes were pleading.

Kyungsoo nodded, unable to speak for fear his true emotions would come spilling out of his mouth.

Jongin grabbed Kyungsoo’s wrist. “So do you understand why I have to change you?”

Kyungsoo bit his lip and closed his eyes. Forever was a long time to exist and he was not sure he could do that. Images of him and Jongin living through all the changes of the world flashed before him and he opened his eyes and gazed into Jongin’s pleading face. They were almost brimming over with unshed tears and his bottom lip was quivering slightly as his grip on Kyungsoo’s wrist tightened slightly. Kyungsoo nodded slowly. “Yes.”

Jongin glanced at the window, the sun was beginning to show signs of rising. Kyungsoo followed his gaze. His hands trembled slightly and he gulped. "It’s not too late is it?”

Jongin sighed heavily. “Not yet. We’re going to be cutting it awfully close though. We’re going to have to go very far from here if we want to have even the slightest chance of this working out.”

Kyungsoo nodded again as he fell silent. There were so many thoughts going through his head. Fear bubbled up within him and he found himself clutching Jongin’s shirt subconsciously. He looked up at him and searched his face. Jongin looked frightened as well. Dread drug its fingers down his spine. He shivered and his fists tightened as they watched the rays of light begin to grow.

Jongin’s eyes went out of focus for a few seconds as he thought and then he switched his attention to Kyungsoo. “There are some things you need to know before I change you.”

“Like what?” Kyungsoo loosened his grip on Jongin’s shirt and his hands fell to his sides.

Jongin blinked and then gently led Kyungsoo back to their room where they were hidden from the sun’s rays for the time being. He paced the room and took a deep breath. “There are some biological factors that I want you to understand.”

“Biological factors?” Kyungsoo felt his mouth go dry. He had no clue that Jongin knew biology. In fact he had never been more attracted to Jongin than he was in this moment.

Jongin smiled wryly. “Yes, biology. Your specialty.” He paced the room a couple more times and then sat down next to Kyungsoo. “These are the things that Suho explained to me before he changed me. Some of it may not make perfect sense and that could be because I am not remembering it correctly. But, I will do my best.”

Kyungsoo nodded eagerly. He was quite excited to learn about the differences between vampires and humans. He thought of taking notes, but then his mind went back to the ashes of his research and his mood soured a little.

“Unintentionally, I have begun the process of changing you.” Jongin held his hands up in surrender to calm the retort Kyungsoo was about to make. “Hear me out, okay?” He waited until Kyungsoo relaxed slightly and continued. “You see, when a vampire bites a human, there are certain fluids that are released into the bloodstream to prevent clotting and to influence the emotions and pain levels they feel. These chemicals travel through the bloodstream much like other chemicals and they affect your body directly. They either cause extreme pain, or in our case, extreme pleasure. It usually depends on the intent behind the bite that brings forth certain chemicals into our saliva that is then transferred into your bloodstream.” He paused and swallowed nervously as the room began to brighten.

Kyungsoo got up, opened the windows and pulled the outside shutters closed over the windows and then pulled the curtains closed for extra safety. He sat back down and stared at Jongin, who he was beginning to see in a whole new light. A part of him was happy to discover a side he was not previously aware of, even if he was only regurgitating information that was passed on to him from Suho. Hearing him talk in terms that he had familiarized himself with was an extreme mental turn on. He nodded his head. “Continue.”

Jongin stared at him. “How long have you had those shutters?”

Kyungsoo smiled. “Since I bought the house. I just never had any use for them.”

Jongin shook his head and muttered to himself before continuing. “So along with these chemicals that are released into the bloodstream, there are these little antibodies that go with them. They attack your cells in your blood and cause oxygen depletion. This is why vampires need to drink blood. We have to replenish the cells that we lose every waking second of our lives. If we don’t then we fall into a deep sleep until we are able to have blood again. This is also why, fledglings are so dangerous. The antibodies are acting in full force and deplete the oxygen levels much faster. This leaves them with an ever present thirst and a feeling of slight light-headedness.” He paused and licked his lips. “We have to train our bodies to be able to deal with the lack of oxygen and eventually, the antibodies subside enough for us to be able to go weeks without blood. As we get older the pace slows even more and as our bodies adapt to the lack of oxygen, we find that we need even less of it.” He stared at Kyungsoo, who was quite preoccupied with the way Jongin’s lips were forming these words. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Suho hardly needs to breathe. He only does so to keep up his appearance among the humans so they do not suspect him.”

Kyungsoo shook his head. He had not noticed this at all, in fact every time he has met Suho whether he knew it or not, he never thought to pay attention to his breathing. He also could not help the fact that the more Jongin spoke, the more he wanted to close the distance between them and pin him to the bed.

Jongin nodded and continued. “Since I have been biting you for quite some time now, you should have been feeling the effects of the antibodies by now. I’m pretty sure that’s why you felt so weak last night.”

Kyungsoo’s jaw dropped. It had just dawned on him that Jongin was right. He did feel particularly weak last night and quite light headed. He also had been getting headaches quite often and felt pretty lethargic. He quickly smiled to himself and said. “That makes perfect sense.”

Jongin continued. “There is also another aspect to the changing process, but I’m not entirely sure how it works. It has to do with belief in the afterlife and all I really know is that I’m supposed to ask you if you believe in it or not.”

Kyungsoo bit his lip. He was not sure if he believed in an afterlife. He was a scientist for Pete’s sake and he figured that there was nothing extra out there. Sure he dabbled in the belief of the Moon Goddess back in the New World and he often found himself looking in the direction of the moon to thank her, but his mind remained largely skeptic. However, since Kai had visited him in his dreams, and he now knew that Jongin and Kai were not the same person, he supposed there might be one after all. He frowned slightly. “I’m not sure if I do.”

Jongin smiled. “Good. Then everything should work out.”

“Wait, I don’t get it. How does my uncertainty guarantee our success?”

“If you completely believed in the afterlife, then when I change you, your soul will leave your body, and if you do not believe, then your soul will die with your body when I change you. Since you are in the middle, only part of your soul leaves and the rest remains with your body as you transform into a vampire.”

Kyungsoo wrinkled his nose. He was not sure he liked that explanation. He hoped there was a more scientific justification, but he would have to deal with what he was given. “Has there been a case where a person did believe in an afterlife?”

Jongin winced as he thought back to the last vampire Suho tried to make before Jino. “Yes.” He paused and pinched the bridge of his nose. “A while back, Suho attempted to change someone. However, he forgot to find out the guy’s beliefs and when he changed him, his soul left his body as it died. When his body awakened, he was a monster. His skin had dried and tightened like that of a mummy’s, his eyes had turned completely black, cornea and all of his teeth were sharpened into tiny little points and he had no control whatsoever. He killed in the thousands. He destroyed village after village and town after town. We could not have that, so I went with Suho to kill him. He was strong, almost stronger than Suho. He could do things. Horrible, horrible things.” Jongin hugged himself as the memory surfaced.

 

~*~

 

He was standing in the rain squinting into the dark. They were nearing another burning village and the screams and cries were telltale signs of the monster’s presence. Jongin sniffed the air and sure enough he could smell the acrid stench of the monster. It smelled like rotting flesh and hunger. He was not quite sure what hunger smelled like, but if there was a scent for it, the monster certainly possessed it.

 Suho was standing beside him and there was perspiration mixing in with the rain drops as he scanned the town square for the monster. Jongin was breathing heavy, his limbs were shaking from fatigue. They just finished battling him in the previous town and the sun was going to rise in a few hours. Jongin could sense it. His nerves were on end. He still was not sure why Suho had chosen him to go along with him. He had only been changed less than a month ago, there was no way he had the strength to kill this monster. He was not even sure if Suho could handle it. His teeth chattered involuntarily and he watched as Suho removed a gruesome blade from a black leather holster. His fear increased at the sight of it.

Something grabbed him from behind and he let out a blood curdling scream. “Suho!” he could feel the claws of the monster digging into his arms and he felt its hot breath on his neck. He trembled all over. He closed his eyes and waited for the end. It never came, because the next thing he knew, Suho was battling the monster. He heard the scuffle more than he could witness it. They moved too fast for even his eyes to comprehend it. It was as if Suho predicted the moves of the monster and struck it with the blade. Every time the blade made contact with it, it hissed and the skin bubbled and smoked. In the blur of the scene he watched as Suho drove the knife right through the torso of the monster, the blade and his hand extending out its back.

Black blood oozed from the wound and Jongin listened as Suho curse silently under his breath as he examined his hand thoroughly, the skin had blackened and it looked painful. There were various cuts and scratches on Suho. Besides his wounded hand, there was blood oozing out of a gash on his leg. He was panting and his body trembled slightly. Jongin had not realized how strong the monster was. If Suho barely made it out alive, he was only still living because of Suho and a great deal of luck. He smiled gratefully at him and took his hand. He noticed Suho wince as he let go of his hand and asked him about it. Suho dismissed him and led him back to the headquarters. They were silent the whole way back. Jongin could not help but glance at Suho’s hand as he marched on ahead of him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end whenever the blade in the leather holster caught his eye.

When he had returned, the others of the clan regarded him much differently. They no longer teased him for not wanting to kill humans. And they certainly did not attempt to pick fights with him. He never found out what Suho told them what had happened, but he figured that whatever story it was, his part in it was largely embellished.

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo balked at Jongin. “How many of those things exist?”

Jongin’s eyes widened. “I’m not sure. I’ve only fought with that one. But who knows, there could be others.” Something in his expression hinted that he knew something else, but Kyungsoo did not want to press the issue if Jongin did not share it in the first place.

“Does it hurt?” Kyungsoo whispered.

Jongin sighed. “Yes. It’s excruciating. You basically feel all of your human cells die and be regenerated as vampire cells. Although once you start feeling a numbness that means the change is taking place. After your entire body goes numb, you will begin to fall asleep. Let yourself sleep, it will complete the transformation. When you wake up, you will be a vampire.”

Kyungsoo shivered and wrapped his arms around his middle. “I don’t think I want to do this anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Jongin felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped on him. He grabbed Kyungsoo’s shoulders and turned to him face him.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I want this. I mean in a way I do, but not like this. I wanted to have a choice, but my choice has been made for me and I don’t like it.”

“If there was any other way I promise I would have told you, but you can’t back out of this now. If anything do it for the biology.” Jongin frowned.

Kyungsoo smiled. “I’ll do it for you.”

“Good.” Jongin let out a huge sigh of relief. “We have a few hours to kill, what do you want to do?”

Kyungsoo smirked. “I have a few things in mind.” He gently pushed Jongin back against the bed and curled into his side. He breathed in the scent of him and closed his eyes. Jongin remained stiff next to him and Kyungsoo grabbed his arm and put it around him. “Let’s just lay here like this one last time.”

Jongin tensed. “Why did you say it like that?” He trailed his fingers down Kyungsoo’s arm.

“I don’t know…it just came out like that.” He shivered and Jongin pulled him in closer and smoothed his hair. He looked up at him and felt a pang of worry as he noticed that Jongin’s face had taken on a pained expression. “I’m sorry. I won’t talk anymore.”

“No,” Jongin cupped Kyungsoo’s face. “I want to hear your voice.”

Kyungsoo smiled nervously. He grabbed Jongin’s hands and brought them to his lips and kissed them lightly. He gazed back up at him, “I only said I wouldn’t talk, not that you wouldn’t hear my voice.”

Jongin sighed and wrapped his arms around him. “Now is not the time. We need to conserve energy.”

Kyungsoo shook his head. "It won’t make that much of a difference.” He ran his fingers through Jongin’s hair, his hands were trembling. He was afraid to be alone with his thoughts. He wanted his mind to cloud over with lust, just so he could escape the horrible ideas and images that whizzed in his mind. “Please, if only to calm my mind.”

Jongin sighed again and rolled on top of him and kissed his neck lightly. Kyungsoo arched into him and smiled as his thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind. The only thing he could focus on were Jongin’s hands slipping down his pants and gripping him tightly and the rough kisses he was planting on his lips.

 

~*~

 

A few hours later the sun had set. Jongin watched Kyungsoo pull on his clothes hungrily. He still had not had the chance to feed and was beginning to feel the effects of it. He squeezed his eyes shut as another wave of pain throbbed in his head. He only got these hunger headaches when he was in desperate need for blood. He was desperate indeed. Desperate to change Kyungsoo and be done with this drama that he brought upon himself.

Kyungsoo walked over to him and grabbed his hand. Jongin glanced down at him and gave his hand a squeeze and smiled nervously. Kyungsoo bit his lip. His expression held many emotions and it was clear to Jongin that he was not ready, but neither had a choice. Deep within himself, he knew something was going to go wrong. He could feel it and it frightened him even more. He realized he had become quite familiar with this sense of fear and nothing he did could take his mind off of it completely.

He knew Kyungsoo knew it too. He could tell that as they both clutched each other earlier, there was a sense of raw desperation and fear. They felt like trapped animals, saying goodbye to each other for the final time.

He reached for the door knob and sighed. "It’s now or never.”

Kyungsoo nodded and swallowed nervously.

Jongin knelt down. “Get on my back. I’ll have to sprint if we even want a slight chance of having a lead.”

Kyungsoo climbed deftly onto his back and clasped his hands around him. He buried his head into the crook of his neck and closed his eyes tightly. Jongin could feel a slight drowsiness begin to fall over him. He took a deep breath and steeled himself. He glanced once more at the house and took off running through the forest. They needed to find supple earth that was easy to dig up. In order for the change to take place, Kyungsoo had to be buried under ground for at least one sunrise and sunset. He knew that this frightened him more than anything because the thought of being buried alive would scare anyone, but this aspect was the least of his worries. He was mainly worried about being able to change Kyungsoo in the first place. He had never done this before and only had a vague idea of how he was supposed to do it. All he could hope was that he would not fail.

 

~*~

 

Suho sat in his study and on a whim, he stood up and lit the fireplace. He had never used it, but something in the air tonight made him want to watch the flames as they licked the inside of the fireplace. He remembered the countless night he spent alone before he decided to create the EXO clan when he would just sit and watch whatever fire he lit at night. It was not as if he needed it for survival. He simply liked watching the flames as they danced against the night sky.

He sat back down and stared at them for a while when Kris walked in. His gaze followed Kris as he grabbed a book from the shelf and sat down on the plush sofa to read.

“Need anything, Kris?” Suho asked. He wanted to be alone right now. He wanted to get lost in his thoughts.

“No. I just want some peace and quiet.” He held up the book and smiled. “Tao was whining a little too much about not getting to spend more time with that human.”

Suho tensed. He feared the worst when it came to that human. There was no possible way that someone would want to be a vampire. The only other person who had wanted that was now locked up in their basement. Suho found himself wandering down to visit the cell that held that person but he never stepped further than the entrance. He was too ashamed to look upon the disaster he created. He was too afraid to look into its eyes, knowing that it would never recognize him ever again. He was afraid of the pain he would feel. He knew that keeping it alive was wrong in some ways, but other than Kris, it was the only person he could rely on. Even if it would never be able to talk to him. Even if he were to let it out, it would only destroy everything he ever worked for. It was heartless, mindless, and soulless. He created it after he vowed to never make another abomination again. Only he and Kris even knew of its existence. The first one had destroyed so many villages that he could not allow himself to change another person for five centuries.

He remembered accidently bumping into him when he was still human, and the electric shocks that ran through him when they touched. For him it was love at first sight. But it was a love that was so sudden, so strong, and so toxic, it turned for the worse when he told him of his state of being.

“Change me.” He said.

“I shouldn’t.” Suho replied.

“But I _want_ you to.” He pleaded.

“But you shouldn’t.” Suho said as he caressed his neck. His fangs descended and he reached for a small blade to make an incision.

“But I do.” He whispered.

Suho placed his head in his arms as the memories flooded through him. This was not what he wanted to think about. He pushed the memories back and casted out his senses. He was trying to feel for Jongin’s presence in Kyungsoo’s house. He was not pleased that things had to end this way, but he had no other choice. In his world, there were only two types of people that survived. Those that fought to survive and those that he chose to let survive.

Suho suddenly jerked his head up and his eyes flew open. Dread and shock coursed through him. Kris glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow. Suho gripped the edge of his desk so hard his knuckles turned white. “He’s going to change him tonight.” His voice was barely audible.

Kris sprang to his feet. “How do you know?”

“I can feel it.” Suho stood so quickly his chair toppled over behind him. He began frantically looking through the drawers of his desk, yanking them open and slamming them shut as he failed to find what he was looking for. It had been nearly six centuries since he had to use the blade.

Kris watched him with a tense expression on his face. His mind was racing and he edged closer to Suho’s desk. “What are you looking for?”

Suho ignored him and turned to his bookcase and began pulling books off its shelves and tossing them to the floor until he found the one he was looking for. He slammed it on his desk and with a small amount of effort he opened it. The pages had been hollowed out and inside of it was a black lacquered case. Suho lifted the case gingerly and shoved the book onto the floor.

Kris’s eyes widened in shock. “Is that what I think it is?”

Suho’s eyes took on a crazy glint as he unlatched the box and opened it. Inside was a wicked looking blade. The hilt had long since been lost and the blade itself was a malevolent hue of deep purple. It had jagged edges and gave off a sinister aura. Suho lifted the blade up and turned it in the air, there was a faint glow to it. A glow of ancient evil power. A power so old and evil that the person who wielded it would kill those closest to him without a second thought. His face took on an alien expression and Kris found himself backing away subconsciously. Suho closed his eyes and began to speak. “This blade has quite a history.”

Kris accidently knocked over a decorative goblet that was sitting on the table. Suho glanced up at him and smiled. He could sense the fear that filled Kris. It was a primal fear. A fear so old, that his ancestors knew it well. Kris opened his mouth and closed it again. His voice seemed to have stopped working.

Suho, still holding the blade in a delicate manner, advanced towards him. “That’s right, you should fear this blade.”

Kris shook his head, his eyes were opened to their fullest. He swallowed nervously and his hand gripped the knob.

“This blade has the power to kill vampires with only the slightest drawing of blood. It is as old as time, much like myself.”

Kris nodded and his gripped tightened on the knob.

“Not only does it kill the body, but the soul too. It makes one cease to exist.” Suho turned around and walked back towards the box. He lowered the blade back inside of it and rested his fingers on the lid. "It is time to end this once and for all.”

Kris let out the breath he had not realized he was holding. “Don’t use that in my presence.”

Suho raised his eyebrow. His fingers drummed on the lid. “The fear you just experienced was one of the very first forms of fear itself. You should have felt your mind be consumed by it. Your body drenched in it. Your very soul should have shivered. The blade is powerful.”

“How did you come to have it?” Kris’s voice had returned to its normal tone, even if his eyes nervously flicked back to the box every few seconds.

"It was there when I woke up. You see, I was asleep for a very _very_ long time. I clawed my way out of the earth with the help of this blade.”

“What do you mean?” Kris was beginning to see Suho in a whole different light.

“I am the original vampire.” Suho smiled. “The blade is mine.”

“Original?” Kris swallowed.

“That is correct. I am much older than you would expect.” Suho closed the latch on the box and reached into his drawer and pulled out a leather holster. “But enough about me. There are important matters at hand.”

“Right, the plan. What is it?”

“You and the rest of the clan, save Jino, will head out before I leave and encircle the area.”

Kris nodded. “What direction are they headed in?”

“North.”

“Okay. Then once we get there, do we let them know of our presence?”

“No, you guys will watch from the sidelines. To be honest I don’t need you all to be there, but this is a very important lesson.”

Kris nodded. He was still eyeing the leather holster Suho was resting his hand on. “And you are going to use the blade?”

“If it comes down to it, which it most likely will.” He glanced into the fire place that he had lit earlier today. "It’s a shame I will be losing such a valuable member of the clan.”

 

~*~

 

Jongin continued sprinting through the forest, not caring if the branches scratched and cut his skin as he did so. He was grateful that Kyungsoo had ducked his head into the crook of his neck and was only receiving minor cuts. He could smell his blood all around him and he knew that soon the clan would be here to stop him. Kyungsoo bounced on his back as he leapt over roots and used the trunks of trees to give him extra momentum as he charged forward. His mind was racing and he was still looking for nice supple earth. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a small clearing. He diverted his path towards it and nearly ran right into a tree as he misjudged the size. He set Kyungsoo down gently and placed his hands on both of his cheeks. He stared into his frantic eyes and pressed his head against his forehead. He wasn’t sure if this would be the last time he saw him and the dread in the pit of his stomach was growing. “We have to do this quickly.”

Kyungsoo nodded and reached his trembling hands up to caress Jongin’s face. “I’m scared.”

“I know.” He paused and looked around at the clearing. He was sure they were still following him. He could sense them moving around in the shadows. His muscles tensed in preparation. “Me too.”

Kyungsoo bit back a sob and looked into Jongin’s eyes earnestly. “Let’s just do this.”

Jongin swallowed and reached inside of his coat to pull out a small knife. He had come prepared. He could not bite his own skin for the risk of accidently tasting his own blood. He knew vampires were not supposed to drink their own and he did not want to fall victim to it. He tugged down his collar and made a small incision on his neck. He guided Kyungsoo’s mouth towards it and whispered. “Drink.”

Kyungsoo obliged and began drinking rapidly. Jongin shivered as Kyungsoo’s tongue swiped across the incision tentatively. He gripped him tighter against him and forced his eyes to remain open as he scanned the forest. He already felt particularly weak from not having fed recently. He could feel his energy being drained with each mouthful Kyungsoo took from him.

Kyungsoo pulled Jongin down to the ground and straddled him drinking more ferociously than before. Jongin bit his lip and dug his nails into his palms. He could not give in to the pleasure of being drunk from right now. There were lives at stake and he could feel the presence of the EXO clan pressing in on him. He could hear their whispers on the wind that whipped his hair back. A tiny moan escaped Kyungsoo as he grinded against Jongin. Jongin dug his nails in deeper in his palms and scrunched his toes involuntarily. He widened his eyes as he frantically scanned the shadows of the trees. Suho would be here any minute now.

Just then Tao broke through into the clearing. Jongin tore Kyungsoo off of him and pushed him behind his back. He hissed at Tao and his fangs descended. His head was pounding even more now, but he tried to shake it off.

Tao raised his hands in surrender. “I’m not here to attack you. I’m here to warn you.”

Jongin hissed again. His mind was clouding over with one thought in particular. He had to protect Kyungsoo.

Tao kept his hands raised. “Suho won’t be here for a while. If you need to feed I suggest you do it now, while you have the chance.”

Jongin glanced over his shoulder at Kyungsoo who was now staring at his hands with a look of amusement. His head was hammering and there was blood still dripping from his incision. “Come with me.”

Kyungsoo snapped back into reality and shook his head. “No. I’m fine here.”

Jongin whipped around and stumbled slightly. Kyungsoo had taken too much blood. He felt the drowsiness begin to slip over him even more and he shook his head to clear it. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

Kyungsoo pulled his hand out of Jongin’s grip and glanced at Tao. “I’ll only slow you down. Go feed. I’ll be okay for the moment.”

Jongin needed to feed so badly. He did not like the prospect of leaving Kyungsoo alone but if he did not feed now, he would not even be around much longer. He glanced at Tao and then back to the trees beyond him. He was not sure if he could trust Tao to keep an eye on Kyungsoo, but since he offered the warning he figured he would chance it. He stumbled towards the trees he was looking at and called over his shoulder, his words slurring together slightly. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

Kyungsoo nodded and watched as Jongin left. Jongin glanced back once more as Tao retreated to the outskirts of the clearing. He could see his gaze still watching Kyungsoo. He hoped he would look out for him.

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo opened and closed his hands several times. He could feel the fibers of his muscles moving beneath his skin. Rearranging themselves into a much stronger formation. His heart was beating erratically and the pain that Jongin mentioned to him earlier was beginning to build within him. He ignored it for the time being as his fascination continued to increase.

He looked up as a drop of rain landed on his skin. His vision was focusing and unfocusing and he felt himself sway slightly. He kept his gaze on the drop of water and tried to get his eyes to focus on it but it kept changing every second. He was beginning to feel quite disoriented. His hearing was becoming distorted. He swore he could hear soft whispers from the trees and the beating of every heart of all the animals in the forest. However, the loudest sound to him was the beating of his heart which was increasing exponentially.

The pain increased and Kyungsoo found his legs beginning to feel weak. His vision was still fading in and out. The rain started to come down in sheets. He heard a crunching sound from his right and whipped his head in that direction and immediately regretted it. He swayed dangerously and almost fell over before strong hands gripped him. “Jongin?”

The grip tightened and suddenly his arms were pinned behind his back. A low voice growled in his ear, “Guess again.”

Kyungsoo shuddered. Icy fear traveled from his toes upward. He blinked his eyes rapidly and was able to discern Suho approaching him from the front. “Good work Jino.”

There was a rumbling chuckle from behind him. Kyungsoo figured that it must have belonged to Jino. He tried to pull his hands out of his grip, but Jino squeezed his wrists even tighter together. There was a sickening cracking sound and Kyungsoo screamed.

Suho grabbed Kyungsoo’s chin and made him look up at him. He clucked his tongue and shook his head. "It’s sad, really.”

Kyungsoo squeezed his eyes shut and forced them open. His breathing was getting heavier and the pain from within him was becoming unbearable. “What’s sad?” he said through gritted teeth.

“You would have been such a great vampire.” Suho caressed his face. “So powerful. Perhaps as powerful as me.”

Kyungsoo tried to pull his head back but Jino grabbed a fistful of his hair and forced him to look up at Suho.

Suho chuckled to himself. And his hand travelled down to the leather holster on his hip. He unsnapped the buckle and removed an ominous looking blade. Kyungsoo felt his fear compound. His heart was already beating fast enough, but now it began to hurt. Everything was hurting him. His knees had given out on him and the only reason he was still standing was because Jino had such a tight grip on his hair and his wrists.

Suho raised the blade over his head and Kyungsoo yelled. “Wait!”

Suho blinked in surprise and cocked his head to the side. “You have something to say?”

Kyungsoo swallowed and it felt like thousands of knives cutting his esophagus. He blinked his eyes again and tried to focus on Suho but his face kept going in and out of focus. He tried to clear his throat but that hurt even worse. His tongue wet his lips and he gasped for breath, his lungs were on fire and there was so much pain that his limbs were beginning to feel numb. Kyungsoo’s eyes widened. The numbness was a good sign. The transformation was turning full circle. He licked his lips again and croaked. “Yes.”

Suho stared at him impatiently. “What is it?”

“Why are you doing this?” Each word was grunted out with agonizing effort.

“Because I am teaching Jongin a lesson. One he won’t forget.”

“But why?”

“He defied me.”

“So you’re going to kill me so he learns not to disobey you? That seems quite stupid. Won’t that make him despise you more?”

Suho struck his face with his nails. Kyungsoo could feel the blood dripping down his face. The numbness was spreading. If only he could stall Suho enough for Jongin to return. Suho grabbed his face harshly and closed the distance between them and hissed. “Watch your mouth.”

“Why? You’re going to kill me anyways. I should just get a couple things off my chest while I’m at it.” Kyungsoo felt sweat mixing in the rain that was plastering his hair to his skin. He licked his lips again, they were getting so dry from him breathing out of his mouth.

“I see where Jongin learned his quick tongue from.” Suho smiled thinly. “Go on, tell me what you have to say.”

“I think you are a power hungry control freak. You are only punishing Jongin because you’re jealous and afraid. You’re jealous of the fact that he would rather spend time with someone else and put them before the needs of the clan. You’re afraid because you think that if Jongin gets his way, then the others will also try to get their way and you’ll lose control over them. It’s quite pathetic actually. If you just let Jongin do what he wanted he would have included you in his decision. He did not want to go against your orders but you would not listen to him because your fear and your emotions got the best of you. You may think that you have the least humanity of the entire clan but you failed to notice the characteristics you possess. You are just as human as I am, or was. You let your judgment become clouded over and are acting out of blind rage. If you just sat and thought about it you will realize that none of this has to happen.” Kyungsoo nearly retched as the pain flared up in his stomach before turning into numbness. The numbness was making its way to his heart and he only needed a few more minutes until it reached it.

“You’re wrong.” Suho stared at Kyungsoo with slight horror. “I never was human. I was the first vampire there was. I am older than anything you have ever come across. There is no possible way I am like you.”

“I’m right.” Kyungsoo gasped for breath again as the concentrated pain reached his lungs. “You’re just too afraid to admit it.”

Suho shook his head. “You’re wrong. You could not be more wrong. There is not an accurate fact in your statement.”

Kyungsoo panted, the pain in his lungs subsided and he squeezed his eyes shut as his heart began beating so fast he thought it would explode. His head was pounding and his eyesight had faded into darkness. He was unable to say anything and he could not see that Suho had raised the blade above his head ready to finally strike him.

“This is goodbye.” Suho sneered. There was a flash of lightening and just as he brought the knife down he was tackled to the ground by Jongin.

Jongin rolled on top of him and punched him repeatedly in the face until Jino grabbed him from behind. Jongin twisted in his grip and faced him. He smacked his head into Jino’s and Jino stumbled backwards a few steps. Jongin noticed a glinting object on the ground and grabbed it. Jino tackled him to the ground and they rolled around a few times until Jongin slashed his throat with the blade Suho had been holding. He vaguely recognized it, but he pushed the thought from his mind. There were more pressing matters at hand.

Jino lay on the ground bleeding from his neck. His body twitched and looked as if it were burning from the inside out. He swelled up and burst into flames and ashes that were quickly put out by the rain. Jongin stared at the remains and stormed over to Suho. He pinned him against the tree and squeezed his fingers around his neck. “This ends tonight.”

Suho cracked a smile and looked in Kyungsoo’s direction. Jongin followed his gaze and dropped Suho to the ground and fell to his knees at Kyungsoo’s side. He cradled his head in his lap and smoothed his wet hair back. “Speak. Speak to me dammit!”

Kyungsoo was still unable to see anything. His hearing had begun to fade and Jongin’s voice sounded far away to him. He tried to smile but his body felt so numb that he could not feel his face. He could feel Jongin’s arms around him faintly and he could tell he was being shaken. But he could no longer speak. Blood oozed out of a wound that was on his back. He had fallen onto a sharpened root that had pierced his skin.

Jongin pulled his hand from Kyungsoo’s back and began shaking all over as he saw it was covered in blood. He pulled Kyungsoo tighter against him and placed his hand against the wound. "It’s going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay. Just don’t die on me. Don’t die, Kyungsoo. Don’t die.” He sobbed.

Kyungsoo could no longer hear anything. His body felt far away as well. He glanced down and watched silently as Jongin held onto his dying body in the pouring rain. He noticed a strange tether that kept him connected to his body and tugged it lightly. When it did not budge, he looked ahead of him. There was a door. He floated towards it.

 

~*~

 

Kai was shivering. He felt as though he had been waiting for weeks for Kyungsoo to dream again, even though it had only actually been a day. He hugged himself and stared in the direction of his feet. He still could not make out any distinct shapes in the blackness that surrounded him. He felt the warm tears streak down his cheeks as he accepted the fact that he would never see Kyungsoo again. He hiccupped and hugged himself even tighter as he turned his head and squinted in the darkness. He guessed that this place would be his home for all eternity.

He closed his eyes and tried to imagine just hearing Kyungsoo’s voice. He tried to imagine feeling his arms wrap around him and rub his back while he sobbed. He was so alone and scared. He opened his eyes and felt his heart stop beating. Somehow he was able to see and what was before his eyes was the most beautiful thing in the world.

“How?” His voice shook as he reached out to wipe Kyungsoo’s glistening cheeks.

“I’m dead.” Kyungsoo smiled sadly.

“Oh.” Kai was left speechless. He was not sure what he was feeling. It was a mixture of happiness and sadness and several other unnamed emotions. He interlaced his fingers with Kyungsoo’s and smiled at him.

Kyungsoo bit his lip. “I’m sorry.”

“For what? Dying?” Kai was confused.

“For not believing you all this time. I know it must have hurt you so much.” Kyungsoo blinked back his tears.

Kai shook his head. "It’s okay. You were in such an odd situation that I understand your confusion. I would have waited years for you to finally meet up again.”

Kyungsoo glanced behind him. Kai followed his gaze and noticed the tether keeping Kyungsoo connected to his body. He frowned. Did this mean that Kyungsoo was not staying with him? He pulled him into a hug and watched as the man that looked eerily like himself cried over Kyungsoo’s lifeless body. He felt a strange twinge in his heart. He could tell that he loved Kyungsoo very much. He pushed Kyungsoo to arms’ length and examined his face. “Go back to him. Don’t let me hold you back.”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “I can’t. There is something that is keeping me here for the time being.”

Kai nodded and returned his gaze back to the scene behind Kyungsoo. There were more figures advancing towards Jongin. They were forming some sort of circle around him. One of them, a dark haired boy with a scary looking face, knelt down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, but Jongin shrugged away, cradling Kyungsoo’s body. His shoulders shook from his sobs and he kept burying his face in his drenched hair.

Kai shivered. He looked up at Kyungsoo and frowned. “This doesn’t feel right.”

Kyungsoo stood up and reached his hand down to Kai. “Nothing feels right anymore.” He glanced back at the scene beneath them, more tears ran down his cheeks.

 Kai grabbed his hand and stood up. He blinked his eyes in surprise as a second Kyungsoo floated up to them. He was wearing only a loin cloth and his skin was slightly tanned from sun exposure. He let go of the first Kyungsoo’s hands and walked over to the second one in disbelief. He reached out towards him with trembling hands and when his fingers met resistance he pulled him into a desperate kiss. He ran his fingers through his hair and pressed him tightly against himself. He pulled out of the kiss and looked back at the first Kyungsoo who was busy watching the scene below him.

The second Kyungsoo beamed. “We can finally be together again.”

Kai smiled and nodded. “Now, this feels right.” He grabbed his hand and they turned towards a vast expanse of grass that had appeared in front on them. As they stepped onto the grass, the second Kyungsoo was suddenly wearing the robes of the Oracle. Kai touched his neck which had weight added to it. His fingers met smooth golden rings. He was wearing the Zipa’s neck piece. He smiled brightly and squeezed Kyungsoo’s hand. He had finally returned to his paradise.

He took one last glance back at the first Kyungsoo and yelled. “Go back!”

The first one met his eyes and nodded. He gripped the tether and pulled himself back to his body.

Kai sighed happily.

 

~*~

 

“Don’t touch me!” Jongin screamed and shook Tao’s hand off his shoulder.

Kris touched the small of his back and gave him a look that told him to give Jongin some space. He watched as Jongin sobbed into Kyungsoo’s hair with a carefully controlled expression.

Jongin felt as if his entire world was crashing down. He felt as though his heart had been ripped out. He knew the others were trying to figure out a way to comfort him, but in reality, there was nothing they could do. He just wanted to be alone. He could hear the other’s voices as they whispered to one another. He heard soft sobs coming from behind him but he could not discern who was crying. He did not care either. Everything that ever mattered to him, was laying cold and dead in his arms.

His hands were stained from Kyungsoo’s blood, but it had stopped flowing a while ago and his heart gave its last final pumps. Jongin’s chest ached. If he had not gone to feed, he would have been there to protect Kyungsoo from his death. He leaned over him and kissed his frozen lips softly. He got on his knees and crawled a few feet away from him and began digging with his hands.

The soil was muddy from the rain, which had stopped by now, and hard to keep from falling back in the hole. Jongin dug through his tears. The smell of the wet earth bringing back horrible memories. Now he had one more to add to the scent. The other members followed suit and started digging with him, except for Suho who watched from a tree he was leaning against, his face stony. Jongin glanced up and made eye contact with each member and bowed his head in thanks. They did not have to do this.

With their combined efforts, the dug a deep enough hole for Kyungsoo’s body to be lowered into. Jongin tried to wipe as much of the mud off his hands as he could, but his clothes were covered in it. He looked up in surprise as Chanyeol held out a corner of his shirt that was unstained for Jongin to use. Jongin hastily wiped his hands off and picked up Kyungsoo’s body. He jumped down into the hole and laid him down. He folded his arms over his chest and pushed his hair out of his face. In that moment, he simply looked as if he was asleep and would wake up any second now. Jongin held his breath as he stared at him. He sighed and climbed out of the hole with Sehun’s help.

They all backed away from him as he stared into the grave they dug for Kyungsoo. He cleared his throat. “I never knew love until I met you.” He turned and faced Suho. The once familiar emptiness was beginning to fill him. “Are you happy? You got what you wanted.”

Suho said nothing and turned on his heel and left. Jongin stared at his retreating figure with a fire burning in his eyes. Rage boiled within him and he wanted nothing more but to make Suho pay for what he had done. He glanced back and saw the others filling in the grave and bowed in thanks to them before taking off after Suho.

He grabbed his wrist and yanked him. “I asked if you were happy.”

Suho’s eyes flashed and he bared his fangs. “I thought you would have learned your place by now. Was this not a good enough lesson?”

“Lesson? You call this a lesson?” Jongin voice had gone up several octaves as he roared in frustration. “You killed the only thing I have ever loved! And you call it a lesson?”

Suho narrowed his eyes. “The wellbeing of the clan comes first.”

“Fuck the clan! I want nothing to do with it! I want nothing to do with you! I renounce you as my maker!” Jongin screeched.

“You can’t do that.”

“Like I even care! All that mattered to you during this whole thing was the sake of the clan! The clan this, and the clan that! I’ve had enough! I’m done! I want out!”

Suho laughed bitterly. “You want out? You think it’s that easy? That I’m just going to let you leave like that?”

“You don’t have to _let_ me do anything. I make my own decisions.”

“And we all see how those end up.”

“Because of you!”

“I know what I am doing.”

“I don’t care! Why did you have to take out your anger on him? He did nothing to you! He even destroyed seven years’ worth of research just so you would accept him! He vowed he would stop, but none of that satisfied you. You wanted to spill blood. His blood. You are the real monster here.”

Suho stared at him. “I did what I had to do to protect the clan.” He repeated the same idea of the clan coming first once more.

Jongin’s eye twitched. “I don’t give a _damn_ about the clan. I have already said I was done.” He gripped the trunk of a tree, his nails digging into the bark and causing a sticky sap to leak out.

“I’m not going to let you leave. Just calm down. You’ll get over it soon enough.”

“Get over it?” Jongin screeched again, his anger was escalating. “These past few months have been the happiest moments of my entire existence, my human life included, and you expect me to get over it?”

Suho blinked. “Yes.”

Jongin shook his head. “No.” he started to walk back towards the grave. “If you won’t let me leave the clan, then I will leave this world.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Watch me.” Jongin sneered. He was going to wait until sunrise and then step out of the shade of the trees and let himself be burned to death.

Suho grabbed his wrist. His grip was like an iron vice. Jongin tried to pull himself free, but doing so only hurt. “Let me go.”

Suho shook his head. “No.”

“Why are you being so ridiculous? Don’t you get it? I was in love with him! I am hurting right now! I am experiencing emotions, something you seem to have forgotten about unless it’s anger or contempt!” Jongin screamed. There were tears streaming down his face once more. “I know you know what love is! I know about your little secret in the basement.”

Suho’s grip loosened and his mouth fell open. “How?”

“Doesn’t matter. Now let me go!” Jongin ripped his arm away from Suho and rubbed his wrist. He stomped back towards Kyungsoo’s grave.

Suho followed him. Jongin whipped around to face him, he was about to shout once more but Suho raised his hand and said with a very small voice. “You are free to go. I renounce my power over you.” He turned and ignored the stares of the rest of the EXO clan and left. A choked sob escaped him before he disappeared into the shadows.

Jongin stared after him in shock. He felt strange. He no longer felt compelled to follow Suho’s orders and there was a weight that was lifted off of him. He looked at Kyungsoo’s grave and sat down. He rolled a clump of earth between his fingers and sighed. He already missed the scent of him. He nodded as each member walked by and left. He then stretched himself out next to Kyungsoo’s grave and whispered. “I don’t know if I’ve told you this yet, but, I made a promise to myself, that if you died, I would die by your side.” Jongin squinted up at the sky, there were hints of the sun rising. “Here’s to us!”

Jongin squeezed his eyes shut as the sun began to rise. He waited for the familiar pain of being burned to consume him, but he didn’t feel it. He opened his eyes and gaped at the ray of light that touched his skin. Nothing happened.

Anguish filled him and he slammed his fist into the ground. “Is this some kind of sick joke?”

He stared at the skin that was not burning and pinched it. He still felt pain, so it was not his mind playing tricks on him. He found a puddle of water and looked down into it. Still no reflection. He was still a vampire. Yet, he was able to be out in the sun? It did not make sense. He frowned and then sighed. “I guess I should head home and–” He choked on a sob. He glanced back at Kyungsoo’s grave and then set off.

 

~*~

 

Buried deep beneath the earth, Kyungsoo’s finger twitched. He could feel his heart beat once and then twice and then stop. He still could not move. He was trapped by the earth that was on top of him, but he did not mind it too much. His wounds were healing themselves rapidly and he could feel the change in his body. He still did not feel the urge to breath, even though he knew his body screamed for oxygen. He did not dare open his eyes in order to avoid having soil get in them. His toe itched and he wished he could scratch it.

Above him the sun continued to shine brightly. Kyungsoo knew he had to wait until sunset to emerge from the ground, and he was growing rather impatient. He passed the time by trying to decipher his last moments as a human. His memory was foggy and he vaguely remembered being held as Jongin sobbed over him.

At the thought of Jongin, his fangs pricked his lip. He had a sudden urge to bite him. He wondered what vampire blood would taste like now that his senses were heightened. He was quite surprised that he still did not feel the need to breathe and tried to think of how he was going to present himself to Jongin. He figured that he thought he was dead, so if he showed up it would be a pleasant surprise. He hoped that Jongin returned to the house. That would be a much easier place for him to show up unexpected. He cast out his senses unknowingly when he wondered where Jongin was and discovered that he was indeed in the house.

His eyes flew open once he felt the sun set. He immediately regretted opening them and shut them once again. He began to claw his way through the soil. It was tedious and hard as he could barely move his limbs due to the pressure. Eventually he moved around enough so that he could at least push his hand up above him. The soil shifted around him and loosened. He felt the coolness of the air against the tips of his fingers as they breached the surface. He wriggled his body as he tried to find purchase to level himself. His foot kicked a root and he pushed against that as he clawed his way out. One of his hands found another root and he gripped that as he pulled himself out of the earth. He glared back at the makeshift grave and brushed as much of the muddy soil off of him as he could.

He glanced at a puddle expecting to be able to examine his face, but saw no reflection. He shuddered involuntarily and dipped his hands in and wiped his face. He hoped he looked presentable enough for Jongin. He sniffed the air and stumbled forward on rubbery legs. He braced himself against a tree and stretched his legs, one at a time, until he was used to them. He took off running.

A few more hours passed and Kyungsoo checked to see if Jongin was still in the house. He was running through the forest in that direction. He smiled to himself as the back window came into view. He walked around the front of the house and held his hand above the golden knocker on the door.

 

~*~

 

Jongin stared at the portrait Kyungsoo painted of him. Inside his emotions were doing somersaults over one another. Part of him could not believe that Kyungsoo was dead. He reached out and touched the canvas. He traced each stroke with his finger lightly. It was the only thing he had of Kyungsoo that truly belonged to him. He sat down on the sofa and stared at it feeling numb.

There was a knock on the door and Jongin glanced in that direction. “Who would come by here at this hour?” He whispered to himself as he dragged his feet to the door. He pulled it open and froze. Every possible emotion that existed flew through him. His shock overrode any comment he was going to make and his mind was overloaded with relief and joy. He was unbelievably elated and thought he was looking at a ghost.

Standing on the other side of the doorway was Kyungsoo in the flesh. He reached out and caressed his face and Kyungsoo closed his eyes and rolled into his touch. Jongin pulled him inside and folded him into a tight hug. He still smelled of the wet earth and dirt clung to his skin and clothes, but Jongin did not care. He was getting dirt and mud all over the floors and his clothes. He could feel the grains of soil rubbing against his face as he squeezed him tighter.  He was vaguely aware of the tears that rolled down his cheeks and the soft sobs that he procured. He had Kyungsoo back and that was all that mattered. "It worked.”

Kyungsoo looked up at him with eyes that were too sharp and Jongin’s skin crawled. There was something missing from him. Something was not right. Kyungsoo smiled, but even that looked strange as it did not reach his eyes. “Yes, it did.”

Jongin recoiled. “No.”

Kyungsoo frowned and he reached his hand out to Jongin. Jongin regarded him suspiciously. “Jongin? Why are you acting like this?”

“You’re different.”

“Of course I’m different. I’m not human anymore.”

Jongin chewed on his lip. He felt uncomfortable. He racked his brain trying to figure out what was missing from Kyungsoo when a thought floated through his mind. Humanity. He was missing his humanity. Jongin sighed. He could deal with that. He could teach him humanity. If Kyungsoo was able to bring his back, he could return the favor. He smiled at him. “Right. You must be thirsty.”

Kyungsoo nodded and smiled a little. He went up on his tip toes and kissed Jongin tenderly. “I missed you.”

Jongin smiled. “I thought you were dead.”

“I stalled Suho long enough to let the transformation almost complete itself.” He beamed. He was clearly proud of this fact.

Jongin ruffled Kyungsoo’s hair and pulled him behind him. “Let’s find you some _food_.”

They stalked the shadows, looking for their next victim. Jongin had a strange sense of exhilaration. He was interested in sharing Kyungsoo’s first meal with him. He remembered Suho’s comment and the thought plagued him. They watched as people passed by them from the alley. Jongin tried his best to ignore the hand that kept snaking down his pants. He turned to Kyungsoo and pinned his hand against the stone wall. “Stop.”

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrow and reached up and twisted a lock of Jongin’s hair with his free hand. He pressed his body against his and breathed on his neck. “Make me.”

Jongin shuddered. His grip on Kyungsoo’s wrist faltered and the hand was once again palming him through the thin fabric of his pants. He groaned and closed his eyes. Kyungsoo chuckled and slid his other hand beneath Jongin’s coat and shirt. He tweaked his nipple and dragged his nails down his chest. Jongin gasped and suddenly shoved Kyungsoo against the wall, his tongue forcing his mouth open and he pressed his hips against Kyungsoo. He pulled back and gazed into Kyungsoo’s dangerously lustful eyes. “I said stop.” His voice came out weaker than he expected.

Kyungsoo squirmed and tugged his wrists out of Jongin’s grip. His eyes were hooded and he licked his lips. “You know you want this.”

Jongin felt the heat in his pants increase and he whined in the back of his throat. They were in public and as much as that turned him on, he knew Kyungsoo needed to feed. He glanced at the opening of the alleyway and smiled as a man stumbled towards them, drunk. “This will be your first lesson, darling.”

Kyungsoo pouted slightly and gave the drunken man a dirty look. “He looks gross.”

Jongin grinned. “Doesn’t matter. Blood is blood.” He tugged Kyungsoo behind and wriggled his eyebrows at him. “Don’t tell me you’re not curious about Suho’s comment earlier.”

Kyungsoo frowned. “What comment.”

“ _Sharing the same victim between two vampires is the most exciting feeling in the world._ ” Jongin smirked and advanced towards the man.

The man looked up at him in horror, suddenly sober. He scrambled to his feet and a gurgled yell escaped him. Kyungsoo sprang into action and tackled him to the ground, baring his fangs. His eyes were glowing red and he viciously bit down into the man’s neck, one hand muffling his screams of pain and the other beckoning Jongin.

Jongin stood frozen for a second. Kyungsoo had moved so fast. His movements were cat-like and precise. He stared at his crouching figure and resisted the urge to rip his clothes off of him. He was beginning to like the changes in Kyungsoo. There was a dark danger to him now. It excited him.

He strolled over to the man and picked up his wrist and bit down. His eyes flew open and met Kyungsoo’s. They both stared at each other in surprise. Kyungsoo then rearranged himself so he was somehow sitting in Jongin’s lap, his back facing Jongin’s chest and continued to drink from the man’s neck.

Jongin stared at his small figure leaning over the man. He subdued the moan that threatened to escape his lips and leaned over so he was pressed against Kyungsoo. He grabbed the man’s other wrist and bit into it. This was a much better position. He ground his hips against him and they both ignored the man’s startled and disturbed sounds of protest. They were succumbing to a world of lust and endorphins. Their bodies responded accordingly and soon they found themselves stripping each other naked in the alley way as their need for skin contact increased.

The man was long gone by now and Jongin dug his fingers into Kyungsoo’s pale skin. Kyungsoo let out a small moan and bit his fist to keep himself quiet. People still passed by the alley entrance and if they caught sight of the two they simply quickened their pace and scurried by averting their gazes. Kyungsoo pressed his hand against the cold stone and dug his fingers in. He gasped and shuddered against Jongin. Jongin threw his head back and exhaled as his legs shook. They collapsed in a heap of tangled, sweaty limbs.

A curious bystander peered into the alley and called out, “Are you two okay? I heard screaming.”

Jongin blushed and nodded. He tugged his pants on and hastily buttoned his coat.

The man continued looking in their direction. “Speak up, I can’t hear you.”

_‘He must be blind.’_ Jongin thought. “Yes, sir we’re fine. Just saw a rat.”

“Must have been a lot of rats then.” The man chuckled and shuffled away.

Jongin glanced at Kyungsoo who had already dressed himself and laughed. Kyungsoo joined him in his laughter and soon they were leaning against the walls barely able to stand in their fits of laughter. Jongin smiled at Kyungsoo and grabbed his hand. He glanced at the man on the ground and turned to him. “Should we bury him?”

Kyungsoo wrinkled his nose. “Why? He’s just a human.”

Jongin sighed. “You were human a few hours ago.”

Kyungsoo frowned. “Oh yeah.” He bit his lip and looked up at Jongin. “Sorry. I’m still getting used to this whole being a vampire thing.”

Jongin shook his head. He was slightly concerned about Kyungsoo’s lack of empathy for humans, but only time would tell if it would become an issue. “Clearly.”

Kyungsoo prodded the man with his foot. “Just leave it here.”

Jongin stared at him in disbelief. He was going to have to spend a lot of time drawing out Kyungsoo’s humanity.

Kyungsoo shrugged and walked out of the alley. “Let’s go home. There are some things I would like to experiment with.”

 

~*~

 

His breath came out in short puffs as he thrust himself into Kyungsoo. “Ah.” He bit his lip hard, drawing blood and Kyungsoo leaned up and sucked it off. Jongin moaned into Kyungsoo’s mouth and gripped Kyungsoo’s thighs roughly as he pushed deeper into him.

Kyungsoo raked his nails down his back and arched up. His fangs glittered in the moonlight and Jongin found the dirty expression on his face incredibly beautiful. His head was tilted back into the pillows and his lips were parted. His eyebrows were scrunched up and the veins in his neck pulsed. There was a sheen of sweat on his alabaster skin and there was a ghost of a pink flush spreading from his neck and chest. Jongin drove into him harder, making the headboard of the bed slap the wall. Kyungsoo gasped and wrapped his legs around Jongin’s waist.

Jongin grabbed his legs and threw them over his shoulders. Their eyes made contact and Kyungsoo screamed his name in pleasure. Jongin’s hips snapped forward roughly. He was close. Kyungsoo was closer. He pressed his chest against his and bit his neck, sliding his tongue over the bite before he sucked gently. Kyungsoo bucked under him and bit down hard on Jongin’s shoulder. Stars exploded behind his eyes and the pressure just below his stomach increased. Kyungsoo drank deeply and Jongin dug his fingers into his skin.

Kyungsoo shuddered and panted. He released his bite and angled his hips upward a bit until Jongin’s thrust hit the right spot. He squeezed his eyes shut and yelled. His hands reached up behind him and gripped the headboard tightly.

Jongin flipped him over pounded him harder, his mouth open as smalls moans escaped him. Sweat dripped down his back and he leaned forward and licked the base of Kyungsoo’s neck. Kyungsoo tried to turn his head to see him but Jongin grunted out a quiet. “No.” He faced forward, his arms getting tired and reached around with one hand until his fingers met Jongin’s bicep. He pulled him down until his chest was sliding against his back with each powerful thrust. He groaned and pressed himself harder against Jongin. Jongin’s tongue traced the shell of Kyungsoo’s ear and he slid Kyungsoo’s hands forward until his face was pressed against the mattress. He leaned up and sped up his thrusts. Kyungsoo whined and his hips jerked as Jongin hit his spot over and over again. “Please.”

Jongin slammed into him more rapidly as Kyungsoo tightened around him in preparation. They both released at the same time and Jongin pushed his dripping hair out of his face. He fell to his side beside Kyungsoo, whose face was imprinted with the pattern from the mattress, and kissed his nose. “Now I know what it feels like to be bitten.”

Kyungsoo was still out of breath. He nodded silently and scooted closer to him, ignoring the sticky mess on the sheets. He would wash those later.

A few hours later, Kyungsoo lay in bed, his arms encircling Jongin’s naked torso. They were both breathing heavy and were coming off another high. Kyungsoo kissed Jongin’s chest. “I love you, forever and always.”

Jongin smiled at him. There were tiny bite marks that dotted his shoulders. “Forever and always.” He said in agreement and nuzzled Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo smiled and then cleared his throat, “I’m getting kind of thirsty.”

Jongin groaned a little. “Can it wait until after the next round?”

Kyungsoo nodded.

 

~*~

 

Kyungsoo followed Jongin as they traveled to the next village over. Ever since their hunting session got rather heated, Jongin was reluctant to train him in their hometown. Kyungsoo did not understand why he was so skittish about the whole thing, they were only humans after all. He mentally slapped himself. He was human less than two weeks ago, he needed to stop with the differentiation. He noticed how it made Jongin uncomfortable, and that displeased him. He did not want the one he loved to find distasteful attributes in him. He knew he still had his humanity, but he could not quite reach it.

Jongin glanced back at him with a curious expression and motioned for him to keep up. Kyungsoo had not realized his thoughts had caused him to dawdle. He looked up at the cloudless and moonless sky and wondered if the lack of light would give them extra cover.

They entered the village and everyone stared at them as they glided past them. They stared at Kyungsoo in particular and backed away as if they sensed the predator within him. Kyungsoo found himself enjoying the looks of fear on their faces and once again mentally punched himself. If he could not keep himself in check, he would regret ever being turned into a vampire.

He turned to Jongin and whispered, “Will we ever visit the EXO clan?”

Jongin expression soured. “Probably not. Let’s not speak of them for a while.”

“Okay.” Kyungsoo wondered what they did to him that caused him to react so strongly. He remembered speaking to the one named Tao and had a small wish of seeing him again soon. He was nice to him when he was human, so the fond feelings remained.

They rounded a corner and Jongin led him to a dilapidated house. Kyungsoo scanned his surroundings. The shutters on the house were falling off and the door hung on one hinge. The paint was chipped and the windows resembled screaming mouths. Kyungsoo expected himself to shiver, but he was unaffected by its appearance. He figured that Jongin knew what he was doing and was content to follow suit.

Jongin held the door open as Kyungsoo walked through and then shifted it until it rested in the frame like it should. He glanced around the room and found what he was looking for. He reached for the oil lamp and lit it.

Kyungsoo’s eyes hurt from the light and he recoiled slightly.

“Sorry.”

Kyungsoo shook his head. "It’s alright. Just a little bright.”

Jongin nodded and directed Kyungsoo over to a chair and sat him down. “Stay here, I will be right back okay?”

Kyungsoo nodded. “Alright.” He watched as Jongin pushed the door open and set it back in the frame. He was eager to discover who Jongin would bring back for them to feed off of. He was glad they were at least inside so that if things got heated, he did not have to worry about wandering eyes watching them.

Jongin returned quickly carrying two people. He lowered them to the ground and said in a monotone. “Pick one.”

Kyungsoo stared down at the two bodies. One was a young girl who could not be much older than seventeen and the other was a middle aged man that looked rather homeless. Kyungsoo wrinkled his nose and pointed to the young girl. At least she looked clean.

Jongin blinked. “Her name is Maia. She has three brothers and two sisters. All of them are younger than her. Her mother just suffered the loss of their father and she recently had to pick up the slack around the house. If you kill her, you are further hurting a family that is already grieving. I don’t think the mother’s heart can bear one more death, especially not this close to her husbands. Her death may be the one that kills the mother.”

Kyungsoo frowned. Part of him did not care, but the other part of him felt sorry for her family. He bit his lip and fought within himself. She looked clean and her blood probably tasted sweet. The man on the other hand looked as if he lived in the streets and would most likely taste bitter and of alcohol. He knew what answer Jongin wanted, and he admitted that part of him wanted that too. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “The man.”

He glanced up to see Jongin smiling. “He raped two little girls the other day. No one knows but those two girls, and now us. He only admitted his sins because he thought I was the bringer of his death.”

Kyungsoo nodded. He nudged the man with the toe of his shoe and frowned. “He still looks gross.”

Jongin chuckled. “As I’ve said before, blood is blood, looks don’t matter.”

“But how do we know if she hasn’t done anything wrong.” Kyungsoo blurted out and then clamped his hands over his mouth. “Sorry.” He muttered.

Jongin sighed. “You’re getting better.”

“I’m trying. Really, I am.” Kyungsoo whispered. He sighed and got down on his knees and grabbed the man’s wrist and bit down on it. He stared up at Jongin with pleading eyes. The blood tasted bitter, but it quenched his thirst regardless. He gazed longingly at the girl as Jongin hefted her up on his shoulders and walked out of the house.

When he returned Kyungsoo had already drained the man dry. He was standing by the window staring out at the scene in front of him, lost in his thoughts. He really was trying to bring his humanity back, but it was so difficult.

Jongin placed his hand on his shoulder and laid his head on Kyungsoo’s head. “What are you thinking about?”

Kyungsoo sighed. “Humanity.”

Jongin hugged him from behind and murmured. “You really are getting better. I think in about a month of two you’ll be fine.”

Kyungsoo nodded.

 

~*~

 

Suho pushed the key into the lock and turned it. His hands were trembling and his throat felt tight. He opened the door slowly and squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them he let out a tiny sigh and stepped through the door. His footsteps echoed as he neared the room at the end of the hall. His hand hovered over the knob and he nearly jumped out of his skin when Kris’s hand clapped down on his shoulder. He nodded up at him and turned the knob.

In the corner was a deformed man hugging his knees. He looked up at Suho with unfocused eyes and drool splattered onto the ground. He crawled on his hands and knees and rubbed his face against Suho’s leg. Suho fought the urge to jerk his leg back. Torment filled him and bile churned in his stomach. He felt sick just looking at him. He who had been so beautiful was now nothing but a hairless gray creature.

Suho knelt down and touched it’s head with shaking hands. “I’m sorry.”

It looked up at him and sniffed the air. More drool fell to the ground. It glanced around with hazy eyes and sniffed the air again. It was looking for its meal. Suho understood that he had only a few seconds left of clarity before he snapped and tried to attack him. He slowly backed out of the room and stared through the window as the creature scuttled back to the corner where it rocked back and forth on its haunches.

Suho glanced back at Kris and nodded. It was time to let go. He reached over and pulled the rope that connected to the curtains that shut out the sunlight. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he watched the creature burst into flames. His breath was shaky and he slid down against the door. Kris stared at him with a curious expression. Suho waved him away and he obliged.

Suho sighed and pulled his knees up against his chest. He had finally let go.

 

~*~

 

“So you’re telling me you can go out in the sun?” Kyungsoo gaped at Jongin. “Why hasn’t this come up before?”

“Yes, and I don’t know.” Jongin paused. “I guess I forgot about it while I’ve been training you for the past three months.”

“Interesting.” Kyungsoo murmured. He was sitting at the desk wearing a pair of lens-less glasses that Jongin picked up for him under the pretense that it made him look more like a biologist, writing down some observations. He knew he would never publish any of this information, but now that he was on the inside he figured he would at least keep track of the changes he noticed about himself and Jongin.

Jongin seemed to have passed onto the next level of vampirism after changing Kyungsoo. He was able to teleport himself a few feet now. He was not quite sure how it was possible, but it inspired Kyungsoo greatly. He scribbled down a few more notes and then closed the notebook. He was done for tonight. He padded over to Jongin and sat next to him on the sofa. He interlaced his fingers with his and smiled. “At least one of us can go out in the daylight.”

“Funny how you wanted that.” Jongin chuckled.

Kyungsoo laid his head on Jongin’s shoulder and closed his eyes. He was feeling a little peckish and a little restless. He was ready to leave this village. “So, where do you want to move?”

Jongin frowned. “But you love this house! It has so many memories for you.”

Kyungsoo nuzzled his neck and his fangs descended. He nipped him lightly. “I want to make new ones with you. This will be our new beginning.”

Jongin pushed Kyungsoo to arm’s length. “Are you sure?”

Kyungsoo smiled dangerously. “Yes, just you and me. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

Jongin grinned. “We have forever.”

Kyungsoo squeezed Jongin’s hand. “And ever.”

 

~*~

 

EPILOGUE:

 

Several centuries later, Kai was walking down a busy street in Seoul. He stared at the screen on his new smartphone and squinted up at the street signs to try to figure out where he was. He turned in a circle a couple of times searching for the correct name and gave up and began looking for someone to ask directions from.

He spotted a black hair head bobbing up and down at the next intersection. The familiarity of him made Kai grimace and yet he weaved through the crowd to reach the young man.

“Hey!” Kai called out.

The young man turned around and stared at Kai, his eyes so wide that it seemed nearly impossible. He slowly walked back towards Kai. “Can I help you?”

Kai stared at him. He felt a strange fleeting emotion run through him. “What’s your name?”

The young man frowned slightly. "It’s D.O, why?”

Kai smiled. “Nice you meet you, D.O,” He held out his hand and let out the breath he was holding. “I’m Kai.”

D.O smiled and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you too, Kai!” He paused. “You know, you seem kind of familiar.”

Kai blinked back tears and whispered. “Yeah, you do too.” He had no clue why he was suddenly tearing up. It unnerved him and yet he continued talking to D.O regardless.

D.O laughed. “Perhaps we knew each other in a past life.”

“Maybe.” Kai smiled. He could not ignore the rapid beating of his heart. His palms were sweating and every time his eyes landed on D.O’s lips he felt a passionate fire roar within him.

“What did you need help with again?” D.O asked.

Kai shook his head and blushed. “Oh, I just moved here, and I’m a bit lost.” He tilted his phone so that D.O could see it and pointed to the little red circle. “I’m supposed to be here for an audition.”

D.O smiled. “I’m headed that way too. What are you auditioning for?”

“To be a dancer, and you?” Kai smiled shyly.

“Oh, I want to be a singer. I’ve been taking lessons for a while now.” He beamed up at Kai. “We should walk there together.”

Kai simply nodded. He still had the strange feeling of recognition. He glanced down at D.O’s hand as they walked and grasped it. D.O gave him a shy smile and blushed. Kai gently squeezed his hand. He could tell that they were going to be fast friends.

 

 

 

I have a tumblr! It'd be nice if you'd follow me there ^-^  [Link](http://kailling-me.tumblr.com/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is it! It's done! I hope you all enjoyed this journey we have taken together! This fic is about 60k of blood sweat and tears...mostly tears hahaha. I hope I answered all of your questions. I have a tumblr! It'd be nice if you'd follow me there ^-^   I love all of you and I could not have done this with out your amazing encouragement! I swear reading and responding to you all gives me the most motivation in the world! I'm sad this fic is over, but I'm also happy! I have a couple more planned out for the future so look out for them! As always, please comment!
> 
> And finally, I would like to thank my super amazing beta, jijos! She is the best person in the whole wide world for putting up with my drama and my wild emotions while writing this fic! If it weren't for her, it would not "flow" nor would it exist. She was the one who encouraged me to write fanfic, so I am deeply thankful for her :P
> 
> Also a tiny shout out to for some certain someones who kept me entertained and never failed to make me smile each time we talked! I love you guys<3
> 
>  
> 
> And I love you all!<3


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